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

Trying out my surprise bottle of Cabochard again today. I'm struck by how quickly the leather note come through on my skin. Far stronger than sniffing it out of the bottle. There's a warm spiciness to it as well, it's very deep, I can smell a hint of green and smoke in there as well. quite masculine and strong. Not at all cheap smelling like my sister claimed it was. Then again, if her bottle doesn't say prada or gucci, she immediately classes it as cheap no matter what the perfume actually smells like.

OneLittelLady. I didn't "get" Cabochard until I tried Balmain de Balmain and then I LOVED Cabochard.

Your sister is missing out massively if she judges perfume by its price tag!

OneLittleLady many Gucci perfumes are quite trashy these days (with Tom Ford long gone) - your sister may be snooty but she clearly doesn't know a lot about perfumes Cabochard is a stylish choice and love how you are getting the nuances!

Toys we share the Orthodox connection. Zagorsk gets it exactly right!

I'm enjoying a warm summery day and the buttery golden glow of Safari by Ralph Lauren. I love this.

I always try to judge a perfume on how it actually smells rather than its price tag. I'm not sure if I have developed my 'nose' fully yet though but I'm working on it. My sister is generally a little label obsessed to be quite honest. I think she's under the impression that because it's designer it's nice.

Azuree by Estee is also meant to smell like Cabochard, it is on my to try list next time I am in Selfridges.

Azuree is not bad value either at £42 for 60ml.

Frugal: Yes, I agree about Zagorsk. Just right. Also, I have a small bottle (3 or 5 ml) of Safari and it's quite nice. Maybe a touch too sharp with flowers (daffodil?) to be one of my favourites..

OneLittleLady: I try not to judge by lable either, but I know I'm not quite there yet, as the thought of wearing Britney Spears, Victoria Beckham, Paris Hilton, or the likes, makes me shudder..

ToysRLuv: I can understand your point of view about those! However, SJP's Lovely is excellent, and to my nose smells like Lanvin Rumeur, which was created by the divine Francis Kurkdjian,

I also really like JLo Deseo. Not bad at all.

Toys I've been debating Bobbi Brown Beach too as I also NEED a summer holiday scent. I'm considering ordering the perfume parlour version of that and Bronze Goddess as I can't justify a FB when our summer is so short, but some of the pp oils I've tried have been quite far off the real thing. Another summery one I'm pondering is Dali's Laguna as it's a bit cheaper but that would be a blind buy as I can only find it online...

I think I need to get me some Cabochard too! There are some really bargainous ones out there that smell great. I really want to try Jessica Simpson's Fancy Nights- love the colour of the bottle and it sounds quite different to other sleb scents.

I've been wearing my very cheap Yardley Iris today, it works much better now it's a bit warmer but does require re spraying a few times. It's so cheap though that I can drench myself in it with abandon

frugal...... I fear you have started me on a new obsession... read Perfumes -The Guide book- fascinating.... then got sniffing (and ordering ).
Have decided that I need would like something fresh/green citrusy, something a bit more sophisticated (maybe with more in the floral range, but nothing too sweet and am considering here something floral with woody musky undertones...) and a unique knock them dead scent which will be ....who knows what
In the fresh/citrus green area have tried versace versense (which I loved, but didn't seem to last) and creeds vetevier (which was so fresh and amazing but a bit too much). Am thinking of trying Eau de Rochas next...
For my more sophisticated scent I've sniffed (but not tried) guerlain l'instant (which I loved but can't figure out why) and tried Bvlgari Jasmin Noir (which i quite liked, but am not blown away by). Would like to try chanel 31 rue cambon.
For my unique scent am wearing (today) Molecule 01, which is just the weirdest (in a lovely way) thing ever, you get wafts of it all day and it's really hard to palce. I have also ordered a sample of L`Air de Rien by Miller Harris.... just because the reviews make it sound so different.....
Mean while I am using up some DKNY for women and wondering why on earth I chucked out an old bottle of Gucci Envy!

Fuzzy: I've never tried PP. So, is it a bit hit and miss? It's cheap, though! Might be worth the punt..

I've never tried any cleb perfumes. I just can't get over the images associated with the people themselves. I'm sure some of them are nice but I just have visions of them all being identikit fruity florals just with different bottles.

Toys I love the sharp part in Safari - narcissus-hyacinth not sure what (am tone-deaf ). If you want to trade it at some point I will probably be able to think of dozens of things something to tempt you...

Hettie sounds great The Turin/Sanchez guide is an eye-opener. I'd be really amazed if it didn't help you figure out your style and favorites. (But it's a gradual process - so many great alternatives out there.)

Ladies hats off to your expertise! A couple of threads worth of sampling and most of you can already out-Sanchez Sanchez! Loving the Le Snob- reading teen - my DDs will get their first FBs whenever they ask for it but I'll do some censoring A perfumista friend gave them a FB of Aquolina Pink Sugar as a punishment for my gourmand leanings.

Oh and I'm a closet J Lo Deseo lover. It's a great hot summer evening perfume. The drydown can become a bit acrid but it's not bad.

Oh and ladies, keep trading samples! That's a way to keep this hobby affordable. I may check for duplicates / unwanted extras in my drawers at some point. Wish decants were less stinky easier to make... Crystal Flacon is a great source too, most of my summer frags are decants, gifts or swaps from friends or minis.

Reading Diana Vreeland's biography and wearing something to match - Schiaparelli's Shocking.

A citrus day today in honour of the Spring (ish) weather.

Malle Bigarade Concentree is absolutely gorgeous, juicy, mouthwatering orange, but I was less enamoured of this evening's Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune - the top notes reminded me of sweat, for some reason, and not in a good way. It dwindled to nothing pretty quickly too. I'll stick with Herba Fresca, thanks.

Celebrity fragrances - does ELdO Tilda Swinton Like This count? That's a lovely one.

I need to get myself some samples I think. Going to see if any of my local shops have any that I can try and perhaps think about ordering some online when I work out exactly what kind of thing I'm looking for. Hoping to develop my 'nose' a bit over the summer and find something really good for winter wear this year.

Tilda Swinton one def. doesn't count. It sounds good.

I tried a JLo scent once. It was nice, but I forgot the name (helpful!). Still, I don't particularly like JLo herself, so wouldn't buy it. SJP would possibly be more acceptable, although still a no-go at the moment. And I do realise this is totally irrational, but can't help it.

I will check my samples box some time soon for any spares and will list them on here. Safari's at my mum's house atm, but will be going there in a few weeks. Will give it one more try, and if I still don't love it, it's yours Frugal (I'm sure we can come to some arrangement ).

It's the grapefruit, Cointreau.
Grapefriit = sweat on some people.

SOTD Vega by Guerlain. I always feel incredibly glamorous when I wear this. Perfect for a Tuesday morning

Yeah!
That particular Tuesday morning glitz and glamour!
I'm gllamming it on the bus with La Chasse aux Papillons.

Toys, SJP is highly respected in the perfume world. She was Creative Director on Lovely and was heavily involved on every level. Luca Turin rates it highly, as does Tania Sanchez. Luca Turin is known to the perfume industry as The Emperor of Scent. Actually they review a lot of celebrity scebts in Perfumes The Guide, and some come out favourably.

I don't always like what he likes, but I always take him very seriously.

He compares Lovely to Narcisco Rodriguez for Her but says Lovely has the edge over it.

It is a Magnolia and Peony floral that beds down into an edgy, patchouli and musk base that truly lives up to its name.

If you ignore the rest, don't overlook this one. I smelt it on a friend, then myself, and the next day bought a 100ml bottle.

I'm wearing Kelly Caleche today - definitely leathery and very slightly floral but for some reason it mostly smells of pencil lead to me. I was expecting it to be a lot more rosy also.

However, I've worn so much Montaigne over the last few weeks I've probably burnt out my olfactory bulb!

Wearing Kenneth Cole Black today. Love the soft floral notes in it. It's very suitable for spring, good projection but still soft and not overwhelming. Lots of white flowers, I'm sure I smell a hint of lily of the valley and iris in there.Nice powdery dry down with a touch of musk. A bargain at £11.99 for the full bottle.

Today I'm wearing Gorse from Laboratory Perfumes. Tried it on in shop and I might need to try again. Gorse and apparently cardamom. Very summery.

Chocs: I've read Perfumes The Guide. I think they also liked one of the Britneys (or something). But still.. Ok. I will give Lovely a try next time I see it. However, I think I've tried Her by Narcisco Rodriguez and didn't particularly like that one, so I probably won't like Lovely either. But tastes change, and I'm willing to give it a go, definitely, as it should be easy to get hold of.

It's funny how I've always judged a book by it's cover (literally as well as figuratively), but "SJP" and "Lovely" are not people/concepts/adjectives that I feel are really anything right for ME (but like I said, will try to be more open minded with that one.. it might be wrongly named and not be "Lovely" after all, but "Fierce" or something like that). Might be very right for someone else (like LT/TS) who absolutely dislikes McQueen's Kingdom (for example), which I love.

Today wearing Tauer's L'Air du Desert Marocain. It was enormous, and sneeze inducing, when I first put it on. Now, about an hour later it's quite pleasant. Yet undecided on that one. It's got a nice citrus/creamy soap note to it, which is quite unexpected, and good. Will have to keep smelling it periodically to see whether it's a keeper (anyone else have to think about how to sniff their arm on the street without looking like a lunatic, all the time?).