Does anyone want to talk perfume?

[NomiMalone]

I've just had a bunch of samples delivered from Les Senteurs and other places.

Frederic Malle - Portrait of a Lady:

I suspected I wouldn't like this and I was right. Awful. Powdery acrid rose patchouli. An old cat lady in a dank Victorian parlour. And the cat is incontinent.

Frederic Malle - Musc Ravageur:

All is forgiven. This is in my top 5. Opens like ferret piss but dries down into pure unadulterated sex juice.

Long Courrier:

One of the most interesting scents I've tried in a long time. An ozonic gourmand. Really good so far. Smells like the salty sea and orange oil and then chocolate and cedar.

Van Cleef & Arpels - Orchidee Vanille:

A beautiful if slightly safe scent. Orangey and woody vanilla. Proper vanilla, nothing synthetic or cupcakey at all. With enough fruit and floral notes to keep it interesting without overpowering.

Armani Privé - Cuir Amethyste: Oh my word this stuff is incredible! Leather and violet. Smokey and purple and churchy. Just amazing. A divisive one I think.

I've been wanting to try some of those you listed for a while but no pennies for samples right now, when i do though, i'll be ordering a load of samples!

SOTD is 4160 tart's knicker drawer. big, floral and a little bit naughty. there's something just a little dirty int he background which stops the big florals being a little too safe

I adore portrait of a lady !! My all time favourite ! Still waiting on decants of it and 28 la pausA , Carnal flower ( not smelt it yet ) and mitsouko (love that too ) really taking their time :( hope not lost in the post !!

You write wonderfully!

I adore Burberry Baby Touch. It is alcohol free so very gentle and light. It is so fresh and it makes me feel all warm and snuggly. It has been my scent for over 10 years and I've tried dozens of other ones but everything else I try is too strong or overpowering.

Product Description
BURBERRY Baby Touch is a light and delicate eau de toilette for mothers and babies. Rhubarb, orange zest and mandarin blend with gentle verbena and spearmint to form the fresh top notes. The scent warms with floral heart notes of cyclamen, orange blossom, lily of the valley and jasmine. Soft moss, sweet vanilla and milk compose the base notes of this soothing fragrance.

I notice orange blossom but mostly verbena and moss.

Honestly, it's a lovely fragrance.

Oh wow I want to try the Orchidee Vanille - I'm a massive fan of vanilla especially when it's woody - yum.

In fact SOTD is Hypnotic Poison because its going to be too warm to wear it soon so I need to get my fill of it now

SOTD for me is Clean - cotton t shirt. Bizarrely addictive, almost masculine but comforting

I always marvel at these threads as I have congenital anosmia. I generally think I'm not missing out much but then I read this and think, wow, scent and smelling is a whole other language. Enjoy your passion - I'm very envious!

I always marvel at these threads as I have congenital anosmia. I generally think I'm not missing out much but then I read this and think, wow, scent and smelling is a whole other language. Enjoy your passion - I'm very envious!

I always marvel at these threads as I have congenital anosmia. I generally think I'm not missing out much but then I read this and think, wow, scent and smelling is a whole other language. Enjoy your passion - I'm very envious!

Sorry

Thanks all.

I've had a few samples from 4160 but couldn't warm to them. I found that they smelled nothing like their descriptions . Particularly the Sexiest Scent in the World one which, frankly, wasn't.

I LOVE Hypnotic Poison. I've packed mine away for A/W but now I want to get it back out!

The Burberry sounds lovely and delicate.

I really want to try Mitsuoko and Jicky (I was fascinated by the recent thread about it).

If anyone would like my sample of Portrait you're more than welcome . It's in a jazzy wee box. It's improved on the drydown. It's less patchouli and more slightly smoky soapy rose. Still not a 'me' scent.

I also received Tenera by Rouge Bunny Rouge which is beautiful (a smoky rum vanilla - like Jack Sparrow ) but has zero sillage on me .

I went to Harvey Nicks yesterday and tried Acqua Fiorentina by Creed. A disappointment. A perfectly pleasant but generic light fragrance.

I also tried Straight to Heaven from By Kilian which I loved.

Oh and DP bought me a bottle of Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille for my birthday. I've only been lusting after it for 5 years! Possibly my all time favourite. I've had a lot of men comment on it, even ones I don't know!

No worries Bill .

Just saw your post. I bet I sound like a waffling idiot!

nomi i'd like to try the portrait of a lady if no one else has asked already. I've been wanting to try it forever, i love patchouli! obviously, if you've already been asked for it, no worries

watching with interest and yes- I would like to talk perfume!

Bill I think you can get highly similar experiences in colour and sound and texture! I have a friend who was born blind and we had to ask him whether he was able to dream. Of course he can, and his dreams are very vivid, but they involve sensory input in formats that are his experience of the world. I do hope that we can convey something with words. Have to say though that when I started getting interested in perfume, I thought that the sense of smell was my most neglected sense. It's easy to get through the day without paying much attention to my nose. Another difficulty is that we have no proper vocabulary for smells. All this poetic stuff is covering up the fact that we don't really have a common language for what we smell...

Nomi if you like Cuir Amethyste, there are going to be lots of other perfumes that you will enjoy. Leather perfumes were mindblowing for me. You are allowed to try unisex and masculine ones too! Orientals, leathers, musks, woods sound like your comfort zone. Light florals and florientals perhaps not so much,

I've been a lazy perfume wearer lately. It's hot and my sunscreen has a strong smell. Although heavy orientals are my comfort zone, colognes and lightweight Aqua Allegorias are my summer go-tos.

So SOTD - what's yours?

Fragonard Belle de Nuit for me today as was a special occasion with family and its one of my absolute faves!

Talking of describing smell, did anyone read this www.theguardian.com/science/shortcuts/2015/mar/31/why-cant-english-speakers-say-what-they-smell

My SOTD is Aqua Manda. Love it.

Still reeking of coconut - using up a sunscreen and lip balm - both will be gone in a few days, what a relief, then I can actually go back to wearing perfume!

I wore Aedes de Venustas to a party a few days ago - rhubarb is one of my favorite notes, so refreshing!

Aqua Manda sounds lovely

Ah Frugal - I do love coconut but it is so overpowering!

Am still seeking that perfect summer perfume

I always marvel at these threads as I have congenital anosmia. I generally think I'm not missing out much but then I read this and think, wow, scent and smelling is a whole other language. Enjoy your passion - I'm very envious!

Me too! This is quite exciting - I have never met another before

Not going to hijack the thread but had to comment! I'm weirdly obsessed with the idea of smells and perfume even though (or because?) I can't experience them. I've quietly followed perfumista threads on here, and spend quite a bit of time browsing Fragrantica just to read people's descriptions. It all sounds so fascinating
The funny thing is, I sort of feel like I know what kinds of scents I would like if I could smell them. Gourmands and incense and orientals appeal to me in their descriptions. Of course I might be completely wrong, but I guess I'll never know!

I have various perfumes. I get DP and my DCs to give me feedback on them - they have standing orders to comment - is it too strong? Too weak? What's it like? Is it nice, does it suit me? DP is mildly useless - he is quite prosaic and doesn't really go beyond "that's nice" or "it's lemony / flowery?" but DS is a great little sniffer. He sniffs food before he eats it, sniffs leaves and stones and dirt and plants when we're out, and loves to bury his nose in my neck when I've used a new cream or potion

Anyway, enjoy it perfumistas. You're all so lucky

Britta I just love how you experience perfume. I see a lot of perfumes as colors and pictures so definitely there is more ways than one to enjoy them! And I think the poetical language and sensuous descriptions are a big part of it. You are probably familiar with it already but Luca Turin and Tanya Sanchez have written the definite perfume guide - it is a great read, most perfumes sound much better than they actually smell. I often read travel guides and books that describe places that I will never visit - so it might be a bit like that.

Thanks Frugal, I'll check it out!

My Nose samples arrived this morning and my SOTD is Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensee. I am liking it so far.

I'm nothing like as sophisticated as you guys but I've been on a long-time search for my perfect perfume. I've tried most Serge Lutens ones and I love them but they're not exactly right. SL does have a new one out and I tried it at Selfridges and it was 99% perfect but it was something like £500! I couldn't quite bring myself to spend that much, tempted as I was!!! Any recommendations? I want a filthy dirty smokey leathery sex smell! Nice huh!! None of the Tom Ford ones quite hit the mark, although a couple are close.

Ok, I've just seen a whole section on Les Senteurs of this very family, so maybe I'll try some samples from there.

i am chuffed to bits, I won a runner up prize for writing a little blurb about one of the 4160 Tuesdays perfumes. the prize is a bonus, i'd have just been pleased with them using what i wrote on their website. my prize was a bottle of my choosing from the range so I chose Who Knew? lots of delicious smoky rose and green tea. I have a very precious reason for choosing this particular one, for the memories it brings up but i'm not ready to share why publicly.