Jicky ...giving it a second chance .. Love or hate ?

[Itsalldramarama]

Whilst impatiently waiting for my decants of Malles portrait of a lady and chanel 28 la pausA I have found a decany of Jicky I bought ages ago ! At the time I was so disappointed and couldn't get past the barn yard opening notes ! Other reviews say a lemon / lavender opening but I didn't get that and had to wash it off ! So having a lazy morning I decided to revisit it ..
At the moment it's so complex and keeps changing but I think I like it .. Not one to wear to work but more a guilty pleasure ! Might have to retry misouko .. That made me feel really nauseous initially .. Like a mix of vomit and dirty nappies ., but I really want to love it !!

Decants are small bottles decanted from the largest size bottles so you can try/buy a sensible small quantity of something expensive, instead of 50 or 100ml. There are companies, like Perfumed Court in the US, that will sell you between 3 and 15ml, priced by the ml, in small spray bottles. If you like very costly scent, like the Frederic Malle or Creed or Perfumerie Generale, or you like to have more than the 1ml sample decants are your friend (but they can get expensive in their own right ). Some of the companies do good sample sets: I like Parfums d'Empire but wasn't able to see the sample set on their revamped website recently. And you should have a look at Nose.fr which offers a sampling service for 10 euro for five samples, which can be a good way to try things outwith the normally dull offer in the high street.

Also how do you find and try these less common fragrances?

Start with some perfume blogs. They're everchanging (and my obsession has waned somewhat) but in the recent past Grain de musc and Smellythoughts have been two of the best. (The first changed after the inevitable book publication and perfume creation, the second seems to be more YouTube based now - but the archives are stupendous.)

Follow the trails to other blogs and to the websites of the perfume creators. They'll always have a list of stockists if not an online shop - and more often than not they will offer samples for sale.

Once you're on any stockist's site you'll see what else they sell - etc, etc etc. If you really love the chase you may almost entirely forget about buying full bottles - and completely forget the existence of the High Street ...

It's a slippery slope ;) every high street perfume will lose its appeal !
Being brave and wearing jicky out and about today !! See what my mother thinks ( if she can smell it amongst her aramatics , dd1 prada candy and dd 2 lover dose !!!
My 7 year old DS has just told me I smell lovely though !!!

It is lovely. And makes one feel so grown up. That sort of fragrance can be a revelation for anyone who's only accustomed to girly, inoffensive things.

"girly" should definitely be in quotes.

I used to like Now Smell This, which is a US perfumista blog with several regular contributors but they moved platform and it was no longer delivered by my email with a clicky link!

Oooh I'd love for the perfumistas thread to make a reappearance. Thanks to that thread I have a small collection of full bottles that I absolutely treasure:

Musc Koublai Khan (love it in all its skanky gorgeousness)
L'air du desert Marocain (my first love and absolute favourite)
Ambre Russe (smells like a spicy drunken sailor)
and Fracas (which I loathed at first, but now is my guiltiest pleasure)

God I love Jicky, but I love s many Guerlain perfumes. I've been wearing it on and off for ages now, I also wear Mitsouko and Shalimar. I'm not too sold on their more modern ones. But, yes Jicky is hardcore but so worth it.

I am coming out of perfume lurkdom to beg you to revive the perfumista threads. They are my guilty pleasure and comfort read....

I remember reading that Jicky was, quite simply, the most adult and exciting fragrance ever ever devised and should come with a health warning. I have never smelled it unfortunately, but will put it on my bucket list forthwith.

I've just perfumed myself with it. It is frankly gorgeous.

Sangria in Italy dusty profumerie often have surprising gems hidden behind the corner. Ours has 1000ml bee bottles of discontinued gems... Just walk in and ask.

Summer is not the best time to revive a perfume thread but let's do it - I think Jicky is a great code word too so let's stay right here

I am using up a bottle of Hawaiian Tropic spf and the coconut smell covers absolutely everything. I am customizing it with a dimestore jasmine and frangipani

Fun factoid of the day - did you know that the classic love/hate Nivea smell is osmanthus?

Zero hats off to you, you've found some of the best stuff out there!

So ladies what are you wearing? We call this SOTD (Scent of the Day)
My SOTD: Aqua Allegoria Teazzurra and tons of sticky coconut.

I have just ordered my 5 samples from Nose, never heard of any of them, so looking forward to this new journey.

My Sotd is Silences by Jacomo. Kind of 19 ish, but not....

Sangria I agree 100% - Jacomo is somehow lacking in vitality and unpredictability, unlike the original. It's a straightforward relentless green-green-green - a bit like sitting on a John Deere lawnmower all day long
Fishfingers I love everything on your list.

Mitsouko is not the same any more. The oakmoss is being phased out, it gives the perfume a mossy earthy grounding but also acts as a fixative. My vintage Mitsouko goes on all day long but I think I might be a little allergic to it because it makes my wrists itch.

I like it, but I do think you have to adjust your way of thinking. It's not a modern smell at all. I am envious of you having Portrait of a Lady on the way though. That is a beauty.

These are the 5 samples I am being sent after my diagnostic:
Maison Martin Margiela, Untitled, Eau de Parfum, 1, 5ml S-1507-EDP-1.5ml

Costume National, Scent, Eau de Parfum, 1, 5ml S-705-EDP-1.5ml

Lorenzo Villoresi, Iperborea, Eau de Toilette, 1, 5ml S-4230-EDT-1.5ml

Biehl parfumkunstwerke, pc01, Eau de Parfum, 2ml S-374-EDP-2ml

Penhaligon's, Peoneve, Eau de Parfum, 1, 2ml

My favourite perfume blog is boisdejasmine. And I like nst too. And another one - very young and slangy. I can't remember its name. I'll repost when I can.

What's Nose?

Fishfingers, I like the sound of L'Air du Desert Marocain. I'm experimenting with vetiver right now. Can you tell me, how strong is the rose?

nose.fr

Sangria, what do you mean by a diagnostic?

You put your most recent, or favourite, perfumes into their little machine, and they tell you what notes you like, and then suggest you some perfumes that you might like.

(I am going through so many crossovers on S&B threads lol, I have just sent my 2 best friends off to nose (for a perfume diagnostic) to Amazon (for Korean masks and bb creams), and one has been dispatched forthwith to Selfridges for a facial workout....

Whose little machine? Nose's?

Yes, that's the one.

Thanks. I've just done it and I'm ordering my samples right now. They will all be new to me. I've not smelled any of the ones they suggest.