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

Fuzzy- that reminds me of the mini collection I once got - Magie Noire, Amarige, Lou Lou, Anais Anais and Ysatis. None of the formulaic stuff you get these days. Pity I never appreciated it at the time

yes, ds had the terrible 2s (and the terrible 1s) and now the fecking satanic hellish 3s (excuse my French!).

Intrigued by Amarige, will try it when I see it next..

And am overdue a visit to a Body Shop.. Maybe without ds.

SOTD was Ambre 114, which is lovely; not as "fruity" as Ambre Russe, and a nice level of sillage. I popped into Boots earlier and had a quick squirt of Paul Smith Rose, which was rather pretty, possibly a tiny bit sweet, but I was almost tempted to buy a FB (less than £20 on CheapSmells).

I have an eBay watch list bulging with goodies, and have ordered a decant of Dior Oud Ispahan. 10mls, which will last me....oooh.....20 years. A little goes a very long way.

: I love Ambre 114. Not a jarring note in it..

Just won Blonde by Versace, Loulou, Venezia and Van Cleef and Arpels First minis. The seller (in Germany) is awkward though. Wants payment by bank transfer (was mentioned, but didn't notice). Should not have bothered for all the fuss..

coffeeinbed, ah the BodyShop ain't what it used to be. The fragrances they have now are nothing to write home about, although some of the men's fragrances have a bit more ooomph, for want of a better word.

ToysRLuv- I love Amarige, although a little goes a long way. There's a very funny review on Fragrantica written by a man whose ex girlfriend practically marinated herself in it to the point where he can't bear it now!

My sample of Après l'Onde arrived yesterday. I'm finding it fairly sweet, but nice in small amounts, particularly for this sunny weather.

Chocs I read that review! It's definitely a 'one spray' perfume, in fact I normally don't like splash bottles so much but in this case, a few dabs is plenty!

Wearing L'Artisan's Timbuktu today, gorgeous smoky woodiness and spices.

Cointreau- MIL wears Paul Smith Rose and it smells gorgeous. I quite like Stella too, but it seems to bring me out in a rash. I might have to have a mooch in Boots and have a squirt of the Paul Smith. SOTD- Noix De Tubereuse by Miller Harris. Very nice for the sunny day that it is!

Shoe and Toys and Haber hope your weeks improve soon!
I have a 3-y-o who is usually sweet and sunny but for the last few days each mealtime and bedtime has been a battleground

I hate being alone with children. I usually do some type of maneuver, either hiring our Nanny to help me with bath and bedtimes or invite someone over. Next weekend is going to be like that - haven't found a solution yet - but feeling v smug that 2 weeks down the line when DH is going abroad I'm actually going to have a friend visiting

Fuzzy I quite like Amarige. It's OTT of course, but that's what I love about so many late 1980s/ early 1990s monsters (I remember when Amarige was launched). I wonder whether it's something to do with my age - all these scents were big/launched when I was growing up and my tastes were formed - what confident grown-up women smelled like. When the watery decade started, my tastes in perfume had already been established, and I never really 'got' them. And fruity florals are... they completely lack the grown-up aspect. Want to smell like chewing gum - chew some gum. Want to smell like shampoo - wash your hair...

Still perfume free today. I'd like to walk to the city and try Gris Montaigne at Dior. But the weather doesn't look very promising, so let's see how it goes.

Shoe I got an itchy rash from Stella too!!! Out of well over 1000 perfumes tested, the two that give me a rash are Stella and Eau parfumee au the rouge by Bulgari

DH got up with DS and didn't wake me at any point, so I only woke up about half an hour ago . Feel a bit out of it.. Sorry everyone, but will post the samples on Monday, because our post office is about to shut very soon.

Put on some from my Kelly Caleche mini that arrived in the post today. Love the initial vegetal note. Reminds me of Les Belles de Ricci Liberte Acidulee, which at that time was really unique..

Frugal: I only really got into perfumes in my early teens in the beginning of the 90s (was born in 1980), so the calone bombs kind of hold a special place in my heart . I was convinced that I would hate anything heavy, but have now been proven wrong about a million times (I now get exasperated at anything with proper sillage and longevity, and love things like Loulou ). Mum (a highly un-girly architect) wouldn't really wear any one scent consistently, just whatever dad had picked up at the duty free that time, so didn't attach to anything she wore (apart from the Issey Miyiaki and Sonia Rykiel, which she wore when I was in my teens and I also borrowed).

IT'S SUNNY OUTSIDE IN THE GARDEN!!! Will go and sit there with my coffee, since DS has fallen asleep (he now looks adorable and angelic, but also like a shorn sheep, after I had to take the clippers to his head yesterday-he hates his hair being cut and I can't risk nicking him with scissors).

I went here yesterday for a sniff of L'Air du Desert Marocain, after you lot had raved about it. I didn't like it. It smelled like an old church to me. But after a couple of hours it smelled much better. The old church had gone, leaving only spices with a gentle hint of incense. But I'm not sure I could bear the first two hours of church. Also tried Lonestar Memories, didn't like that either. And something exclusive to Jovoy called Enchanted Forest which was OK.

Cor, MrsS, you'd never drag me out of that shop! Sorry you didn't like LADDM or Lonestar Memories - all the more for us, then. Actually, although I love the smell of Lonestar Memories, I'm never sure if I want to smell of it. But LADDM is addictive. I've just ordered a sample of Tom Ford's new one, Sahara Noir, which sounds similarly incense-y. And some Oud Wood and Noir de Noir for good measure, as I have been hearing Good Things about those two from you lovely lot.

SOTD was a quick squirt of whatever came to hand this morning - Cabochard, in fact. I've been cleaning most of today, but thought I'd just take a quick break in the sunshine with a cup of tea....and the poxy sun went behind a cloud and hasn't been seen since. Someone upstairs is telling me to crack on with the scrubbing.

Haber Yes I do like it. No discernable flowers! It's an oriental and it had great staying power on me when I tried it. Not a daytime, not for me anyway, but a gorgeous evening/night fragrance.

Went to town and tried Gris Montaigne at Dior - compared to powerhouses like Leather Oud and Oud Ispahan and it's very subtle, and much more conventional. A patchouli rose with a lot more nuances, about two hours into it I'm smelling cold tea - I guess this means it's a modern chypre I don't hate it, but it left me a bit lukewarm. And when you still can sometimes smell true chypres - Y for example - this somehow just smells quite trivial.

I could have tried Sahara Noir during the same outing but frankly forgot.

I like incenses, but I'm a Protestant and have no early church-related memories. The memories gathered later in life - the musty cold wood smell of Russian churches, the ancient Lateran baptistry filled with billowing holy smoke, the gleaming iconostasis in a Serbian church - are quite pleasant. But tastes in scents are very personal, we all have our likes and dislikes (Loulou + sweat = teenage disco in the 1980s ).

Cointreau: I'm still sat in the garden, although sun is now behind massive trees in the shared garden bit.. Will get off my bum and mow the lawn once ds gets up.

As you mentioned signs from above: A huge pigeon just did a massive poo less than a foot from me on the table.

Frugal: Understand completely about olfactory memories/associations.. Gucci Rush 2 always makes me remember when I was very ill (allergic reaction, not drunkenness in this case) on a cruise ship. I really can't wear it now.

Churches smell ace, but can't seem to be able to handle much oudh (it's a teensy bit sweaty/knickery on me).

I love a good church smell with the proper thurible and the old stone and wood pews. However I don't like Oud at all. LADDM and Avignon are my idea of a good time.

I do know what you mean about bad olfactory experiences ruining a good perfume. I cannot bear Samsara after I knew a girl who didn't wash or brush her teeth and doused herself in Samsara. It always smells like it's hiding halitosis and greasy hair.

Shame really.

On the other hand, LouLou reminds me of my student years when i was more "myself" than at any time of my life, so it will always be precious to me. (I don't wear it out of the house though)

Chocs - I used to work with someone like that who used to drown herself in Samsara as well! And I can't bear it for the same reason. I also can't stand Oscar de la Renta as it reminds me of a very disturbing "lost weekend" I had in my late teens as one of the other people there used to drown herself in it. I don't like Chloe because someone I don't like used to wear it. I can't stand Loulou or anything in a purple bottle because they all have that sickly edge to them.

I got a free book on perfume from Jovoy as well. I can strongly recommend a visit if you are in Paris. It's a lovely shop, with helpful assistants - not the sort that pounce on you when you arrive, but the sort who leave you to browse but are there to be helpful and answer questions. I went with a friend who said "I'm going to have a squirt of this - I don't care what it smells like, it's 300 euros, and I've never smelled that expensive before!"

I've set up a new thread- Part 5. DP got back safe and sound from his extended trip to the States and we have just returned from a visit to his parents' house in Derbyshire. Very exhausted.
Frugal- our house is like a battleground at the moment with our very testing 2 year old. Everything is the end of the world. Wrong coloured bib- Waaaaaah, tantrum. Wrong spoon- Waaaaah, tantrum. Toast cut the wrong way. You get the idea. I feel permanently tense.

I don't care what it smells like, it's 300 euros, and I've never smelled that expensive before!

Haha! I like that.

So glad your DP is home safe and sound, shoe.

Two year olds are AWFUL. You have all my sympathy.

oh Shoe..it's pass.
Toddlers are intense.
I much prefer teenagers and endless conversations about heartbreak and the world.

I tried something called Something Blue by Oscar de la renta today.
I should have known better, but it had linden in the notes descriptions.
Middle bits were lovely, dry down a boring mess.

Nevermind, got a Nars lipstick, seems to be my default option when perfume is disappointing.

Shoe I got the 'mother of the year' prize today when DD2 fell asleep in the afternoon on the bathroom floor (bed, sofa, many other options did not suit her) When she woke up, there was about an hour of crying, kicking and screaming and hitting the door

A low key day today, have been wearing Burberry Woman (would like to finish the bottle). It's too sugary and makes me crave sweets - I baked about 20 pumpkin spice muffins

Jovoy sounds fantastic!

Whoops - new thread here