Where are the perfume lovers gone???

[wiltingfast]

Remember our chats??

Our SOTD (scent of the day)?

Is there a thread I've missed

If not, lets take it up here :)

SOTD an unknown sample from my perfume drawer, woodsy and irisy, am baffled but enjoying it!

They've reformulated Molinard? . That was the scent I wore for longest, on and off through my 20s and 30s. Then it just slightly changed and I couldn't put my finger in what was different, but there was an undertone missing. It is probably the scent older friends think of as "me". Is the new one in the same bottle?
I like incensey smells, love the churchy smell of frankincense, I like Ambre Sultan. Love Ambergris, I have a big lump in a box that I sniff when I see it. Like woody too, green woods, wet leaves, rain on dry pavements, damp or frosty Autumn mornings..mmmm...Think I like L'Heure Bleu for its hint of Autumnal sadness.
I'm going off to google the two you suggested, I don't know them at all, is there anywhere good to get samples?

Oh and agree LouLou= fly spray. Vile. And the bottle was hideous too.

Just saw this pop up on active threads, so apologies for barging in without a proper introduction. I have just finished a bottle of Lalique's Le Baiser which has been by go to perfume for the last 10 years. It's still around on the internet, but hugely expensive - I'm assuming it has been discontinued. If anyone is familiar with it, can they suggest an alternative for regular, daily wear?

Oh yes, I should say that I like rose and jasmine on the flower side but lean more towards woody and spicy fragrances (e.g. sandalwood). I don't like citrus much in perfume and I'm not keen on overly sweet or musky fragrances.

Le Baisier still seems to be fairly available.On Fragantica, apparently Beauty Emporium sell it in several different sizes ( from mini upwards) and ship worldwide.Also seems to be quite a bit on eBay.

Canny, your parcel came today. A huge, huge thanks! It's a real haul of treasures!! Am I right that you have put a decant of Elixir as well as Feuilles de Tabac in? It takes me right back to church. Big time! I'm thinking about which bank to rob to buy it of you..

I like Loulou. I'm not crazy about the bottle, but I like the doll's head plastic note in it. I would love to find a perfume that would smell even more like a plastic doll's head, but I know I'm weird. Perfumes I have enjoyed before I got serious about perfume have been, Sonia Rykiel-Sonia Rykiel, Flower by Kenzo, Eau D'Issey, Esprit Country Weekend, Sergio Tacchini-Donna, Diesel Plus Plus, Tommy Girl, Clinique Simply, CK Truth, McQueen Kingdom.

Loulou + sweat = teen discos in 1980s, urgh. My best friend's favorite perfume circa 1988

SirVix you really don't need any advice as you have found lots of great things on your own. If you want to refine your searches, pick some of your favorites, find out what the main notes are or which perfume families they belong in or who the perfumer was, and sample related offerings (Surrender to Chance one note focused sample sets are great for this). It sounds that you like complexity and headiness but also hesperides and chypres. Ormonde Woman (by Geza Schön I think) is an outlier as it is quite modern and linear in style. Worth exploring more? Also you could explore incense perfumes. I like many of them, some faves are Avignon and Zagorsk from CdG and L'Air du Desert Marocain from Tauer. CdGs show that modern synthetics can be excellent, Tauer is a self-taught perfumer (with a chemistry degree) and he uses lots of naturals and his perfumes are big and tenacious and have a distinctive, unique vibe - love or hate. Etro's Messe de Minuit is another classic, a bit fruitier.

For me, there is never just one signature perfume. I like variety and change. There are a few that feel quite effortlessly me - Vega, AA Figue Iris, Tauer's Miriam, Chanel No. 5, Y - but my tastes change with changing seasons and I get bored quickly. Last year I wore Shalimar Mexique constantly, this year I feel a bit tired with it and prefer other things.

SOTD Shem-el-Nessim. It often reminds me of the sweet headiness of linden in blossom, but today I'm getting a strong dense marzipan-like facet, Farnesiana style.

Toys doll's head = heliotropin + vanillin (an excuse to keep on sniffing).

Yes, heliotrope and vanilla are some of my favourite notes. I think depending on the individual doll, there might also be a touch of fruit, like sweet strawberry in there.. Guess I'm trying to evoke the happiness, naivete and excitement of childhood.

Toys - I was just thinking about perfumes I wore "before I discovered perfume"; this was prompted by a squirt of Calyx while I was shopping today.

Anais Anais, Geminesse, Ysatis, Knowing, Calyx, In Love Again, Acqua de Gio, Tommy Girl, L'Eau D'Issy.... then I started work for a fragrance company so used whatever came my way; the favourite being Boss Woman.... I would happily never again smell Ysatis and Knowing, and I'm now weirdly anosmic to L'Eau D'Issy, but I still adore Calyx and In Love Again. I got a sample of the latter, strangely enough, from 4160 when I ordered one of their sample sets - I noticed they had a few vintage decants on offer as well. Geminesse - ah, would love to try that again!

And I may have just purchased a small bottle of Nuxe Prodigieux Le Parfum. M&S had a little giftset with a bottle of Huile and a 20ml EdP for £20...couldn't resist.

Cointreau sounds fantastic - I'm very tempted by a Prodigieux le parfum 15 ml mini, it seems they do them for Valentine's Day! But still resisting...

We've spent the afternoon in a park and came across a mimosa (=acacia tree) in full bloom when walking back. It's spring! I'll squirt on some Mimosa pour moi!

This discussion is really making me crave Rose d'ete by Rosine - yellow rose with Mimosa and Linden.I am really tempted to buy a bottle but am trying to resist.I'm not sure it's the type of perfume ever offered in a split though.
Enjoy the samples Toys!

Thank you Toomuchtea. I will check out your Diptyque suggestion.

And also others for the eBay hints. I had seen it advertised there, but I wasn't sure how much counterfeited perfume is kicking around on the internet these days.

While I'm here, my MIL loves vetiver after I bought her a (limited run) set in Neals Yard. Are there any reliable vetivert fragrances around?

Dustbunny, the expensive unisex one is Chanel Sycomore, the budget alternative Encre Noire from Lalique. Lots of other vetivers in men's department. If she wants only a hint of vetiver, Acqua di Parma Colonia Assoluta is worth a try. For a light modern one, possibly also Tory Burch - not sure how much vetiver in it but have been meaning to test that properly.

Tom Ford Grey Vetiver and Hermessence Vetiver Tonka alre also solid contenders.

Thanks so much for those suggestions, Frugal. I will definitely bookmark this thread, as you lot are like the bra interventionists - you really know your stuff!

Am very happy to have come in from a rainy afternoon trying to shop with grumpy children in tow, to find new suggestions. I have felt rather bereft since all the reformulations. No more Diorissomo for Spring, no more Mitsouko on a Winter night. I started with Diorella aged 16 or 17, and then worked my way through the things I loved in the more well known ranges for a few years alongside the Dior, then at 19 I started wearing Molinard de Molinard, then only available in this country in Harrods- my friends Dad worked overseas and had bought some on a whim as a gift for her Mother, i loved it and had to wait a few years to get it here. Then Les Senteurs opened and I would make the trip there every Christmas , the owner wore Molinard, so she always stocked it, I have loads of the beautiful little perfume bottles shown above, but actually that EDT bottle hasn't changed either, it is prettier in real life. Les Senteurs had the wonderful James working there, who would introduce me to new things. Then I met Linda Pilkington (Ormond Jayne), and my husband went to her shop one day and bought me a load of samples, of which OM was probably my favourite. I like the warm foresty feel of it, Luca Turin's comments sum it up for me. Now I live in the back of beyond and even with a train journey London is so far away that I never get to browse new or old fragrances. i've been rather obsessed for my whole life, am 51 now, and since my Avon Apple Blossom in a glass squirrel bottle aged about 7, I have had a love of scent. I wish this thread was scratch and sniff!!

Re vetiver fragrances DustBunnyFarmer the real classic is Guerlain Vetiver -- originally it was a man's fragrance, but I don't think there is anything that masculine about it. It's a light citrussy vetiver scent, really easy to wear and very beautiful, and also very reasonable. A 50ml bottle will set you back less than £40. Recommended by perfume blogger Bois de Jasmin as the gold standard reference vetiver scent. And available absolutely everywhere.

I was just about to suggest the Geurlain vetiver too. And isn't Habit Rouge vetiver? Maybe I am mistaken.

Habit Rouge is a light citrussy oriental, Shalimar-ultralite, highly wearable for women. Yes Guerlain's Vetiver is a great classic and well worth trying.

Vix it sounds like ordering some samples would be great for you, I started to really love perfume when I was stuck home with small children.

Loving the bra intervention comparison, thanks -they really know their stuff!

Another sample from Canny on my arm now.. Une Rose de Kandahar. I love this. Powdery and smooth. Really different to most of the Tauers- big surprise!