Part 3- Fully fledged perfumistas- share your fragrances

[shoeprincess2]

Part 2 is nearly full!

Cuir velours smells like it sounds like, soft and suedey, one of those warm aura smells. Has immortelle in it so it is warm and sweet but in a subdued way, not like the hair-rising quality of Sables. Those of you who like heliotrope, almond, light ambers (Farnesiana, L'Eau de Hiver, Eau de Merveilles) might like it.

Belsize Vero Kern of Vero Profumo sometimes comes to these events. Her perfumes are great, I have a tiny bottle of Rubj extrait. Quite a few perfumista friends are huge fans of Monegals, haven't tried them yet (over 1000 new perfumes a year, old Frugal can't keep up).

Jenny welcome, S&S are great! Please do support them by placing orders. These are hatd times for small specialty shops and niche lines.

Grossmith were there too. Anyone who likes va-va-voom classics, try Shem-el-Nessim and Hasu-no-Hana. Exquisite stuff, you've been to the garden of good and evil and bitten the apple after trying them, there is no turning back after that They do travel sets of their newer perfumes.

Sorry if this reads like an advertorial. I talk about perfumes that I love; there were other houses and perfumers there too but these were my top picks.

Oh and sending soothing quick recovery 'fumes to Kiwi!

I love your posts, Frugal. Even when I don't comment, I enjoy hearing what you have to say, particularly as I think we have many tastes in common and I know very few people who like the smells I like so treasure your thoughts on them. So no advertorial feelings from this quarter, at all. Pleased to hear you liked Bois d'Ascese - so grateful to flora for letting me try it!

Kiwi, I missed where you said about your op and can't seem to find the post but hope it all goes well. Good vibes and soothing smells from me.

Wow, Frugal, what an interesting day. I shall watch this space for the new Tauer.

Best wishes from me, too, Kiwi. And kind hopes that nice smells - or even just thinking about favourite scents - will help you soon feel better.

Get well soon from me as well Kiwi

I love reading your descriptions too Frugal and love hearing about launch parties and the like. I really enjoy reading about fragrances and different people's opinions on them...someone earlier compared it to the pleasure of looking through a great cookery book and I totally agree (and love reading cookery books, even if I don't attempt most of the recipes!)

So I had to watch Katie Puckrick's review of secmag...and then ended up losing most of yesterday afternoon watching videos of her talking about her perfume collection!

SOTD is Guerlain Homme L'Eau Boisee, yes, I smell like a man I thought it was time I tried DH's newest one on myself. It's very lemony and zesty with underlying spice, quite light, maybe better in warmer weather for me. Will try it again in a few months I think.

Dunno if my Bal a'Versailles is EDT or EDP, def not extrait. Am wearing Jontue today which lives in my desk along with a Tesco Finest Figgy perfume that is surprisingly good.

I have been wearing White Patchouli by Tom Ford all week so far, it gets a compliment from DH every time. Tom is also launching a new fragrance to his mainstream line which sounds great, looking forward to trying it as I love oriental woody/florals. Here it is.

SOTD was Ambre Russe, Parfums d'Empire. Divine, that's all I can say.

Wore 28 La Pausa last night. I love it, it's so clean and refined.
Desert island perfume?
Have not decided yet what to wear today. Miriam?

Hello fragrant ladies

I am off to Biarritz for work on Friday for four days (not as posh at it sounds, I only live three hours away lol) and there are some perfume establishments to visit - yay! Can anyone recommend perfumes I should definitely try from any of these lines? I like spicy/woody/incense-y and sparkling hesperides (sic?). My fave perfume is NR for her. I would be grateful for your guidance, otherwise I'll have to have a spray of everything and I've only got one afternoon for shopping.

Hermes
19, Avenue Edouard-VII

Elysees Parfums
3, place Clémenceau
Brands: Annick Goutal, Les Parfums de Rosine, L'Artisan, Lubin, Serge Lutens.

Galeries Lafayette
17 Place Clemenceau
Brands: Frapin, Geoffrey Beene, Kiehl's, L?Artisan Parfumeur, L.T.Piver, Laurence Dumont Les Senteurs Gourmandes, Molinard, Maison Martin Margiela, Parfum d?Empire*.

Thanks xx

Morning all! Yesterday = no perfume day. DH was making marmalade - a divine smell, but overpowers everything else. Today, because the sun is shining, I am trying green, woody, spring-like, gorse-flower Ichnusa again. Seems to me that Profumum Roma make some of the best modern green smells anywhere.

Frugal, I love 28 La Pausa, too. And what a thought - Desert Island perfumes! At one level, am torn between two complete extremes: calm, clear, ethereal Eau d'Hermine and rich, luxurious, happy-memory-filled L'Heure Bleue. At another level, it might be better to choose something one would want to wear all day every day ..Now, there's another challenge!

Ladame Lucky you! Goutal's Eau d'Hadrien is citrus fresh and sparkly. But I think others can probably help you better with spicy smells.

Ladame I'd focus on Hermes, sniff through the Hermessences on a strip ending with Ambre Narguile. Act very interested but indecisive, you may score a sample of your faves (I have many times).

Then I'd go to the specialist perfumery and sniff Mure et Musc by L'Artisan and Musc Koublai Khan by SL. Then just have a ball with L'A, SL and AG lines. Take a pen and a paperback and write on the strip the name of the perfume and then file it between the pages of the book (so that strips with different 'fumes are not touching). I'd skip Lafayettes for now. In both stores, ask to try your favorite on skin (left wrist for one, right for the other). Have a fantastic day!

SOTD Defile New York by HdP. A great spring 'fume, a green gourmand (!).

Oh and forgot to say to Ladame that Kiehl's original musk is pleasant and cheap, worth sniffing if you have other errands to run there.

Frugal Thank you so much. I will feel more confident with (scary) French Perfume Ladies if I have an idea what to look for! I usually faff around trying to smell everything and getting it all wrong. Brilliant tip about the paperback and strips . I'll probably just go to the two places, I do have a GL a bit nearer and so will look for the Kiehl's musk there another time. I've got the whole Saturday afternoon (joy), Mr Ladame will be in the bar hoping Wales trounce England in the rugby and I'll be joining him after shopping, hopefully wafting in on a cloud of gorgeousness! x

Florascotia Thanks! That sounds like something I'd like!

Today's SOTD is Nahema extrait applied with a light hand.

Yesterday's fragrance was Guerlain Tonka Imperiale, sent to me by a mysterious and generous donor ( ). Lovely, quite sweet and honeyed, drying down to a soft spiciness, but it didn't last long and stayed close to the skin.

Today I'm trying another amber - Ambre 114 by Histoires de Parfums. Much more "savoury" and masculine than the divine Ambre Russe I tried the other day, but still beautifully warm and spicy. Another winner.

I shall stick to the ambers until the temperature gets out of single figures!

My bottle of Bal a Versailles arrived today and ooh it's interesting.

To start off with, so many floral notes that I couldn't get my nose around them all...and an underlying slightly sour, musty fustiness (civet maybe?) then after a while it becomes softer, more powdery, a hint of vanilla and the mustiness fades into the background. A bit like wearing an item of clothing that's been in the attic a few months and spraying a vintage, retro floral over the top to hide the must. Hmmm, not love at first sniff but I do like...could end up being a grower (and the bottle looks so nice on my dresser )

EDT but staying power and strength is very good. Online Beauty Buys (via ebay) delivered pretty quick and well packaged so would recommend

Great frags everyone. (And do not feel obligated to like my picks - we all have individual preferences.)

SOTD Liaisons Dangereuses By Kilian. Soothing rose halva sweetness on a dreary day. Loving the fantastic materials.

Cointreau- I have both Ambre 114 and Ambre Russe on my sampling list. I received 31 Rue Cambon and Bois D'Encens yesterday, so looking forward to testing them.

I am still horrendously sleep deprived and now have only 3 weeks left before I return to work and Oliver joins his brother in nursery. Eeeeep. on the plus, side, I look forward to wowing my colleagues with my ever increasing perfume wardrobe.

Have been sorting out my box of samples - some purchased, some freebies, some kindly sent by other perfumistas.
The ones I don't need/want to smell again are a very mixed bag, but if anyone would like any of them, for free, please just message me. Here they are:

Versace: Eau de Parfum - delicate mixed flowers. Tasteful, unthreatening.
Villoresi: Iperborea - more delicate flowers, plus citrus, plus something musky. To me, not as fresh or chilly as its name suggests.
Thierry Mugler: Womanity Eau pour Elles - have not unwrapped this free-gift sample because I think this is a sweet and fruity sort of smell and I don't like them.
Czech and Speake:Frankincense and Myrrh - Like a very classy aftershave.
Askett and English: Essential - Rather louder aftershave.
Boadicea the Victorious: Seductive- Resin/turpentine!! Really interesting but not me.
Carthusia: Corallium - Citrus, sea-breeze, Mediterranean herbs, then something sweeter. I thought I would love this, but I don't. Or rather, I like the beginning but not the later stages.
L'Artisan Perfumer: Mimosa pour Moi - This starts off just like mimosa, which is wonderful, but then they've added a bit of vanilla.
Piguet: Fracas - Am glad to have smelled this classic, but it really is a love/hate concoction. Syrupy, slightly dirty tuberose plus jasmine. To me, cloying, but on the right person, could be knockout.
Chanel: Bel Respiro - A bit like Chanel No 19. Maybe a watered sample:rather faint - or maybe that's just the nature of the beast. A green beginning getting sweeter and then rather like old-fashioned Imperial Leather soap.
Carthusia: Caprissimo - Lemon, spring flowers plus a hint of sandalwood and myrrh. It's nice, but I don't want to wear it.

Just dropping in to say that I was sent a tester for the new Givenchy Dahlia Noir L'Eau today which is apparently exclusive to Harrods. Really lovely (I haven't smelt Dahlia Noir itself) but this reminds me of a lighter version of the original Agent Provocateur fragrance, crossed with the Clarins Eau Dynamiste Sunshine version that came in the yellow bottle. It describes itself as follows:
A femme fatale veiled in tenderness
The crystalline burst of citron and neroli, the delicate femininity of rose petals, the refine accord of musk and cedar wood.
The description makes me think it might be completely synthetic.......not sure.

Acqua di Parma, Iris Nobile, smells clean, powdery and warm, I got a bottle for MD form DH, amazing scent, this one will be my favourite for long while.

Iris Nobile Sublime is even more lovely , I love this, it is on my wish list.