Part 3- Fully fledged perfumistas- share your fragrances

[shoeprincess2]

Part 2 is nearly full!

Clb I've encountered one labeling mistake at Alla Violetta previously - SL Bois et fruits masquerading as Borneo (lots of international sleuthing needed to sort that out). Does the sample smell a bit like gin? If not, it's not AslP. Une Rose is a very fresh, dewy take on rose - PoaL extremely full and heavy.

Have worn Rume by Slumberhouse all day. Smells like hot mulled wine and gingerbread spice in a completely original way. Okay but not my favorite.

No gin at all, thank you, ProFumo!

Thanks also for confirming my vague memories of PoaL. This rose scent is definitely not that one - no patchouli + needed to be reapplied about 6 hours. PoaL lasted until the next day, iirc.

Now have Une Rose on one wrist and the soi-disant AslP on the other. Not the same thing. Une Rose is gorgeous, but richer and stronger than the mystery rose, which has, perhaps a little citrus in it, too.

Blimey, Une Rose is strong! One tiny spray on the wrist and I feel overwhelmed. In a good way, though.

Anyway, enough from me on roses.

I've tried a sample of Chanel No 22 today. Very heavy and very Chanel I thought. Quite similar to the No 5. I haven't tried No 19 for years. Still not managed to track down any trace of Chanel 18. If it even exists.

I've been wearing Youth Dew Amber Nude today, love it - got a hint of cola to it and reminds me a little of a much quieter Tabu.

Chanel 18 samples available on ebay here

I tried Chanel no 19 today - that on one wrist and Chamade on t'other. Couldn't bear 19 and had to wash it off. It made my nose sting! Chamade on the other hand had a soft springy freshness to it without the hard edges of the Chanel. I'm getting nearer to a FB of it.

wow, this is a Chanel sample collection!

Kiwi- that Chanel kit is the same as what Sali Hughes got sent by Chanel, as I remember her putting it on her instagram page. It is very, very nice. I wonder what it will go for? Maybe £200?

Thanks kiwigirl. I'm off to have a look!

I'm still marinating in my £10 Montaigne so its well out of my league

Ladies, that Chanel set is lovely, but I got a poor woman's version of that (manufacturer's samples of 10 of the 13 exclusives and no skin cream) when I ordered a full bottle from Place Vendome. Many other perfumista friends have received a similar freebie gift set. Have also been given free minis of EdC and Bel Respiro afterwards (not to mention coffee and champagne) by Chanel salesladies. Go there, talk to them, be knowledgeable about perfume and see where that takes you. They hate the blunt 'would you give me a sample' but seem to like a potential addict a good chat (and are often intimidated when you start discerning iris notes - or work in 'steam distilled rose absolute' and 'vegetal musk' when talking about No. 18. Basically any shop talk we have here - they have memorized descriptions but rarely really understand much about perfume).

Niminy I have a Chamade 'fund' going- I've been doing online surveys when the kids go to bed which have so far racked me up £30 of John Lewis vouchers

Ooh Kiwi what do you think of Montaigne? I've had my eye on it for a while as it's so bargainous on ebay.

Today I've been testing Robert Piguet's Calypso. It's not floating my boat, this one. It smells lovely up close, sharp yet sweet orange and a hint of rose, but the overall impression from the wafts I get is a general, jumbled up 'perfumey' smell. It reminds me of smelling a watch strap that's absorbed five different perfumes

ProFumo I can't imagine myself talking like that to SAs! I studied French for long enough to know in my head how to pronounce French perfume names correctly, but what actually comes out of my mouth is a different matter!

Fuzzybirds smart thinking!

Fuzzy absolutely loving the Chamade fund Some people say it's the best perfume ever made - so it's worthwhile cause! And of course you can outsmart SAs - everyone here can. Sniff Bel Respiro, sigh and shake your head, and say that you quite like the green tinge but that it was done so much better in Chamade

Wearing Bois d'Ascese by Naomi Goodsir. Shoe (?), Haber thanks for writing about it here, I would have missed it otherwise. Lovely smoky incense, not too strong, just right. But fading fast - wonder whether this is a full-day fragrance?

And Kiwi Montaigne sounds great. Have never tried it...

Clb what a mystery! Mystery sample is not Lipstick Rose? (Does not sound like a makeup smell...) Geranium is a component of rose so in theory it could be Geranium pour monsieur as well but that would smell very fresh and bracing.

Haven't tried the sample of Lipstick Rose AV threw in with my order - I suspect it won't be my sort of thing, but will bravely try it tomorrow . I don't think the mystery scent could be described as very fresh and bracing. In fact it seems more wilting and cowering in the face of the force of nature that is Une Rose.

Identifying it will be made more difficult by the fact that my sample order from AV contained more than just Malle perfumes - there was Isabey, Diptyque, by Kilian, The Different Company, Vero Profumo, SL, Amouage and L'Artisan in there too.

:ahem:

Off to my perfume workshop tomorrow, very excited! I'm not sure what to expect, but it can't be a bad way to spend a day, can it?

I've got a full bottle of Chamade, got it off a gift voucher for doing something well at work (forget what). Got Apres l'ondee that way too. I was hankering after Chanel No 19 but realised I had Fidji, Chamade and Ivorie which are all in a similar vein.

Hope you have an inspiring day, Cointreau!

Now, Une Fleur de Cassie or Lipstick Rose today?

It's a cold wet day here so what did miss d afty decide to wear - Herba Fresca - should have gone with Cuir de Lancome.

I'm loving Montaigne. Have worn nothing else since I bought it (and have bought a second bargainous bottle before they sell out). I like orientals like Opium (old Opium, not the new style cats piss). Its sharp and old fashioned perfumey, with mandarin peel in the top notes which had me worried first spray but it becomes a very heavy floral (jasmine/ roses) with underlying incense which becomes stronger as it dries down. It smells gorgeous the next morning as a skin scent - I think the lotion must be lovely.
It is a sillage monster though. I'm having my hysterectomy on Tuesday (eeek) and have decided its probably best not to take it into hospital with me lol. That will be more of a Louve moment I think. Can just imagine the other woman coughing out their stitches as I sit in a cloud of Caron!
Apparently Caron uses an underlying mixture called Mousse de Saxe, similar to the way Guerlain perfumes use the Guerlainade base

I'd really like to try N'Aimez Que Moi with its roses and violets

I've just noticed that the article about Mousse de Saxe mentions YSL Opium - its must be the similarity I can smell in the inscense drydown

The perfume workshop was brilliant; I had such a great time! She gave us about 20 fragrance oils to sniff and identify, told us all about essential vs fragrance oils, isolates, perfume structures, extraction methods......She illustrated each different perfume type (floral, oriental etc) with sniffs of commercially available EdTs, then we had the chance to make a couple of blends, one from a "recipe" and one of our own choosing. It was interesting to sample the individual notes; some were immediately familiar (rose, cloves etc), but others I had never smelled in isolation (labdanum, tonka bean). She had small samples of the "good stuff" too (vanilla bourbon, oud oil etc) to compare and contrast. Fascinating.

I took a kit home so I have a few oils to experiment with, including a little bottle of the legendary Iso E Super which I will definitely be trying. But I think the great perfumiers can sleep easy in their beds.

The name is Frugal, Frugal Fash.

I am, and will always be your resident Chanel No. 19/Tauer/Slumberhouse advocate with a weak spot for Beyoncé (not).

Cointreau your workshop sounds marvelous! Angeliques sous la pluie is full of Iso E Super and Molecule 01 by Escentric Molecules is Iso E Super too.

I've worn a really dull perfume all day. Visa by Piguet, the modern one, boring fruitchouli, smells like Coco Mademoiselle except CM smells better and the Lidl knockoff is 3.99 or thereabouts, not north of 100?...

Kiwi Mousse de Saxe is really my thing.

Kiwi If you like Caron's more luxurious scents, such as Montaigne, I'd really recommend sampling Nuit de Noel. Also available very cheaply. It's not as opulent as Montaigne, but still rich and warm - and very comforting.

Today, because I have a lot of work to do, I'm wearing cool and brisk Thundra
(mint, mint, mint, mud and musk) IMO a very unusual green. I know this gets mixed reviews from sites such as Basenotes, but I bought a whole bottle very much reduced, and feel strongly that I got a bargain.