Part 4- All you ever need to know about fragrance continues

[shoeprincess2]

Well, we're nearly all full.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/1665844-Part-3-Fully-fledged-perfumistas-share-your-fragrances

When was Sephora in UK?

I don't mind some of the more mainstream perfumes, I just wish I could get a bit more variety. It's such a shame when everyone you meet smells identical in fruity florals because there's so many other options out there, it's just getting hold of them.

OneLittellady- I agree, don't get me started on fruity florals. When on earth will that dreadful trend pass us by? It feels like it's been going on for years. I recently had a Discovery Box from the Fragrance Shop here they send you five samples and five vouchers for a fiver every quarter. I'm not kidding, I could barely tell them apart, they were so ludicrously similar.

I would say the best High Street mainstreams are Estee Lauder. Very Estee and Private Collection are very good and Luca Turin raves about Beyond Paradise.

I love a good fruity floral but everything smells so similar at the minute that it's put me right off buying anything new. Once i can get my mitts on some more unique stuff, i'll be happy

Soleil Rochas is a good fruity floral. It's gorgeously summery with pear and Orange blossom, so I agree that good ones can be found. Apart from that, all the new releases are identikit smells, almost like government issue!

The standard scents where I am are Beckham or Joop for men and pretty much any celebrity perfume or Jean Paul Gaultier (sp?) for women. Everyone smells identical

Ladame, we had a fab time, thank you! Many aperitifs, small bars, markets, cows, goats, fields and trees. Plus lots of nice food, a cheery little woodburning stove and a lot of marshmallows to be toasted. Lovely. Just got back today.

Don't remember, but they definitely had shops here.
Wasn't there one in Bentalls?

I completely sympathise with the lack of decent outlets- I live in a rural area and the selections in towns near me is dire. We go to an indoor shopping centre most weekends, which has a better selection but not really anything niche...really need a trip into Bristol to have a browse round Harvey Nichols but I don't go often as parking is £££ (plus a stupidly expensive bridge toll)

I get most of my samples second hand off ebay at the moment but it's a bit of a waiting game, so as I'm impatient and had some amazon vouchers lingering I ordered a bottle of Theo Fennell Scent, which arrived yesterday. A complete blind buy based on reviews and was a bit worried at first as it has 'dirty knickers' all over it! It settled down into a very seductive, womanly, spicy oriental floral with a subtle undercurrent of skank. Definitely one for date night, the school run not so much

Fuzzybirds- have you tried Cardiff? There's a good John Lewis, Howells perfume hall is good and there's a branch of Jo Malone. Go by train- the station is right in the centre.

My perfume news from my holiday is that I have a FB of Ninfeo Mio, courtesy of duty free and a husband who wanted to treat me, DD is in love with Eau d'Hadrien (she's six so I didn't get her a bottle) and Berdoues Violet eau de cologne rocks so I got a bottle to tip into my bath in the summer (also some lavender eau de cologne but I've never seen the violet one before).

And unpacking is really rubbish, isn't it?

Haberdashery, yes unpacking takes me longer than the holiday. I often find it helps to wear something outrageously glamorous for mundane jobs though.

I wore Jolie Madame to change the cat litter last week. It really helped.

Haber Ninfeo is such a beautiful scent and bottle! Did you pick the feminine (oval) or masculine (square) bottle?

(Oh and unpacking really sucks.)

OneLittleLady for very cheap but stylish samples I recommend HdP. George Sand is an interesting fruity-floral and Moulin Rouge is purr-purr face-powdery.

Chocs Why have I not thought of Cardiff before? Train is perfect too as the DCs will love it, I didn't realise there's a Jo Malone there too. Thank you!

Haber I hate unpacking too, especially the resulting huge pile in the laundry bin! Love the sound of the Berdoues colognes, especially the violet one.

I am not very good at glamorous clothing! I'm strictly a converse and jeans sort of woman. But I do smell gorgeous so that helps a little.

I got the feminine bottle, Frugal. I actually really preferred the other one because the label was nicer (I liked both the bottles) but it was more expensive (could not work out why and is this discriminatory?!) so I picked the oval one. I totally LOVE the scent. Sharp and fruity and summery and a bit cold all in one. Really fantastic. I think it might smell of somewhere like Brittany where it's almost always just a bit colder than you hoped it would be (but still summery).

Most of my unpacking is still in the suitcases. Genuinely cannot be arsed tonight! Am eating French crisps and drinking armagnac.

fuzzybirds. The Berdoues violet is available online from M&S .... I went slightly mental during their recent 20% off deal ( with gifts !) and ordered a lot of things from Berdoues, Fragonard, Roger et Gallet and Nuxe. I think sadly the offer is over now but the Violet Eau de cologne is very nice and cheap even at full price.

Haber I love that your daughter at 6 loves Eau d Hadrien! It's important to train the next generation. I am definitely going to order a sample of Ninfeo Mio. it sounds divine. I have a sample of PF Extreme and I think I need to smell both Ninfeo Mio and regular PF to decide which will be the one I buy a full bottle of for my fig days.

Wearing Ninfeo Mio to celebrate Haber's new botttle!
If you need a non-cloying green fig, this is it. Exhilarating!

Fuzzy- so glad to help. They've really done a number on Cardiff in the last six years or so. Your kids might love the free Museum there too. (National Museum of Wales)

Has anyone here tried Breath of God from Lush Gorilla Perfumes. It gets a rave review from Luca Turin but to me it smells of tar and cigarettes.

Is it just to sophisticated for me?

I bought a bottle of Estee Private Collection from Cheap Smells. On the box it says Eau de Private Collection. On the Estee website it says they only do it in Pure Fragrance Spray which is stronger than an EDP. Does anyone know if there is a difference? I swear mine is weaker than the one I tried in the department store, but it could just be my imagination.

That violet eau de cologne sounds very tempting pocketandsweet. Do they sell it in store or is it just online?

Yes. I've tried Breath of God. It was interesting. I kind if liked it- I couldn't really imagine wearing it often BUT I did find myself smelling my wrist over and over again. It had major tenacity and changed over time. I think it would be a marmite love it or hate it type thing. Definitely worth smelling. I wore a lot of perfumes when I was in my twenties that I really liked but potentially must have been pretty strong for those around me. I don't think it even crossed mind that everyone wouldn't think they smelled great. As ive gotten older I have become more conscious of how other people might feel about my perfume. Breath of God for me would be one of those I would probably think twice before wearing. Definitely give it a smell though.