Perfume lovers - vol. 6

[FrugalFashionista]

This space is for anyone who wants to talk about perfumes - ask for recommendations, tell us which scent you are wearing today (=SOTD), list your favorites...

Continued from here

Even a classic like Shalimar is hard to find on your average High Street - Boots no longer stock it (only Parfum L'Initial which is nothing like actual Shalimar) and Debenhams doesn't do Guerlain. Shalimar was the fragrance that really made me fall in love with perfume and it's such a shame that it's considered niche now :(

And yy to orientals and greens being underrepresented.

Debenhams do do Guerlain. Even if they don't have a Guerlain counter (and many don't - sadly), you can find some of their fragrances in the perfume bit. They always have Shalimar.

Wearing l'artisan pink poivree. Lovely but does not last.

Asking for a friend who adored the bodyshop Annie perfume back in the day. Is anyone familiar with it? Apparently the closest match is Anais anais but she doesn't love it.

I don't think there are any Brisbane perfumistas here but Libertine are having another warehouse sale starting on Thursday at their West End outlet. 60% off--I bought the pink poivree for $70, an amouage candle which DH loathes for $50 and Tokyo Milk for about $10 last time. Stunning bargains. Penhaligon, Creed, Juliette has a gun and more.

SOTD: Eau de Paraty, which gives me a blast of neroli and tonka to start then fades as fast (or even faster) than most colognes, but I was hoping for some sniffing in town so I chose it because it wouldn't last, IYKWIM. Parking expired while I executed DH's requests for summer T-shirts, plus TKMaxx for pillows and towels to take over to MIL. Result: an epic fail on the scent trail!

Hmm maybe my local Debenhams (admittedly a small one) is just rubbish then? I did ask but they said they had no Guerlain at all.

SOTD DivinEnfant Etat Libre dOrange. Very sweet, but interesting. I like the coffee notes.

SOTD is Rose Blanche from Sharini.Its a warm fruity spicy rose which I wasn't expecting from a white rose scent,but is now mellowing to a pure rose. I initially sprayed on Lotus Paradise but the Ginger top note ( and cedar base note) was really strong and I had to wash it off.On a brief initial spray the Jasmin and Iris scents are lovely as is the Ambre essential but I will test them properly.I've had a reaction to La Tulipa perfume on my neck giving me a big wheal so do need to be careful about spraying perfume on my skin.
Toomuchtea I gave up burning candles when my children were babies.I use room diffusers from M&S and TK Maxx to disguise the smell of kids and whiffy spaniel.Currently have Moroccan Orange from M&S ( though often have rose).My favourite so far has been the David Austin Rose diffuser ( the house smelt of bowls of scented Roses)
OneLittleLady will pm you.

Hello,
Does anyone know of any perfumes that smell like Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire? I had a sample and adore it but it is too expensive.

I also have a bit more of a random one. I love the smell of Chandrika soap and Neutrogena Rainbath. Are there any perfumes that smell like either of these?

TIA.

There are lots of the Guerlain on eBay.If you like expensive perfumes just buy small amounts - either samples or decants or partial bottles.
Secondly go onto Fragantica and type in the perfume .You will then see links to the best online prices.

Canny the Sharini perfumes sound very good, I think I'll have to give them a try.

Toomuchtea I can't really help as I tend to think of candles as an autumn/ winter thing so mine are all cosy warm scents. How about Diptyque? Not sure if they do equivalent candles of Philosykos but it's a lovely green fig.

Milmingebag I've seen La Petite Robe Noire very cheaply in the sales as well (think around £27?) oh and I think I saw it in TK Maxx a few months ago for around £25. Might be worth a look!

I smell of all sorts today. Started off with a sample of Diptyque L'Ombre Dans L'Eau (lovely fresh rose/ blackcurrant) and then a bargain ebay bottle of Lys Soleia arrived so had a squirt of that to check it was ok. Then wanted to compare the Lys with Terracotta (which I naughtily bought at the weekend) so had a squirt of that too. I really do not need to buy anything else for some time

toomuchtea Have you tried Melt candles? They smell divine and scent whole big rooms, even unlit. They have a large range and do votive glasses so you can try five of them without a major commitment. Sadly, they aren't as widely stocked in the High Street as they deserve, but their website is www.themeltco.com/scented-candles.

SOTD is 4160 Tuesdays Shazam... hot, spicy and spectacular with sillage to start, but then quieter. Quite a bit of patchouli. Perhaps my favourite yet. Anyone else tried it?

Cress et, I like shazam too. It has that whole sandalwoody thing going on that i love.

Love Rainbath too. I stock up whenever I am in the us (sadly not as often as I used to be now I have DCs).

Bulgari Jasmine Noir today, courtesy of canny. At first squirt, I was concerned it might have that powdery note that doesn't work for me at all, but fortunately my fears were unfounded. Bizarrely, I don't find this at all jasminey. It is powerful and smells very grown up, in a Chanel kind of way. I suspect it will last quite long. I think it may be better as a night time perfume, rather than daytime, it feels a bit too sophisticated for my school run/home working day!

Lancome Cyclades today. I get a lot of musk from it. It does fade to a pretty floral though after a couple of hours. Canny have pm'd you!

Thank you onelittlelady.I will dig out the bubble wrap for mine.Science I'm glad you've received the samples.I sprayed the rosebud with Sharini's Jasmine scent for you( but maybe its dissipated).
SOTD is Sharini's Iris Veritable .This is very much a skin scent with a warmth from Jasmine and the earthy Rhizomes( as opposed to powdery Iris).

SOTD is Heeleys Verveine .I have to spray my hair due to the reaction on my neck so am now wafting around in a scented cloud.Dd sprayed my sample of Jour d'Hermes on her wrist last night and it smelt gorgeous.On me it smelt like lemon detergent.I guess she can have it.I'm also really tempted to sample Rose Ikebana and Pamplemousse Rose but they have the same Nose as Jour d'Hermes so I'm really not sure.Is the best place to order these Surrender To Chance?
I've now received my third set of Nose samples .I was very disappointed in these.I loved one but the rest were real scrubbers.Two were noxious and one Miller Harris scent smelt like a freshly cut hedge.

Fingers crossed canny as I've just ordered another set from Nose, to come from the greener, lighter side of the spectrum. Today I picked Mark Buxton's Dark Angel at random from the Nose sample bag; I get lots of carnation and am not sure I like the sweetness. Bit soapy, I think.

Bought the Elie Saab Perfume today.I was prompted by finding the Apom Femme sample that I'd lost and smelling the orange blossom plus Ylang ylang scent.This made me really want to try Kurkdjians other perfumes.I also tried the eau de toilette which is a lighter fresher version of the original-I loved this too.Acqua Universalis and Amyris Femme are the other two i truly adore.I'm officially becoming a MFK groupie sad to say.
Some interesting summer versions of old scents in Boots.Paris Roses is lovely and a really good price - I can still smell roses on my sweater.As is Eternity Summer which was light,fruity and melony.

I'm having trouble with my 4160 samples. I love the concept and the names and the quality and I admire how they change from one thing to another. However- I can't find one I really love.

It was nearly Shazam and Who Knew, but there was just something in the base that stopped me loving them enough to get FBs. I can't figure it out. On paper we are made for each other, but when we meet the chemistry is wrong. It's like a bad blind date. I SO wanted it to work out for us!

Anyone who can wear big stinkers have an opinion on Dior Poison (the original)? I can wear Shalimar, Cinnabar, Opium but can't wear Chanel No5. Worth a try?

I think it's time noisy old Poison had a revivial. Compared to to the sugary/candy floss fruity-choulis that are around today and worn in such great measure, I would find a nuclear Tuberose/Jasmine far less offensive and a pleasant trip down memory lane.

Go for it Myrtle!

Well I'll give it a go then! I too am finding big loud 70s/80s perfumes to be surprisingly nice (I was born in 1989 so I grew up around CK One and cool minimalism, and then in my teens stuff like J Lo Glow), aside from the sweeter peachy/rose scents like 80s Karl Lagerfeld.

Here is a really interesting post on 'teenage' perfumes from the 80s to now, which makes me want some vintage Anais Anais! While I've never smelled Pink Sugar, my first perfume was a Christmas present of Next Just Pink at around 14. It was nice, but I never really got why I was supposed to prefer it to Impulse. I never wore other perfume as a teen or was really interested in, though due to a love of Joni Mitchell and Tolkien was pretty hippyish and loved the smell of Karma soap by Lush, and patchouli oil. At 18 got a present of [[http://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Marks-and-Spencer/Infusion-3417.html this] which is no longer sold (though apparently smells like Hypnose by Lancome?) and that made me a bit more interested (ooh, I smell like a woman!) but I was homeless at the time so perfume passed me by a bit.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago - I go into Boots and have a sniff of Shalimar (and also I think Obsession, which I also like - I like the herbal note which makes me think of dry dusty Mediterranean countries). It finally all makes sense and I perfume. I got my current bottle as a present and I knew that I could wear it forever and never get bored. I was finally in love with perfume.

I think one of the reasons I love big loud scents and niche perfumery is that they create a particular idea - they don't just make you smell of a cake or a garden. Sometimes I want to smell of a cake or a garden, but sometimes I want to smell of Maleficent or a Tudor queen or Victorian mourning. And sometimes I want to smell of a woman who rules the world (and I think Fleur Oriental might be that scent).