Let's revive our old perfume threads, perfumistas!

[shins]

I know it might seem like we've nothing left to say but I'm sure we have :)

I have to tell you: Seville a l'Aube is on the TK Maxx website for half price - lots of other L'Artisan perfumes but that one is very special and I wore nothing else all summer!

SOTD: Cuir de Russie. Like a fuzzy hug with vague undertones of marauding Cossacks from the 19th century.

FF - that sounds very interesting!

Cointreau- I liked that one. I got coffee and spices. Lovely and cosy.

Discovery Box so far:

Moschino Fresh- does what it says on the tin- but I rather like it. Very fresh and clean, like Febreze and Ocean Fresh stylee kitchen cleaner.

L'Artisan Mure et Musc: I tried this before and it didn't really register with me. I tried again today and I loved it. It reminds me of 4711 when it opened and then becomes something even nicer. sadly L'Artisan never lasts long on me, but I'm going to give this one a proper more detailed go.

Taylor Swift Incredible Things: I'm very surprised that I like this because I loathed Wonderstruck. Incredible things has suede in it and its a bit more interesting than your standard celeb fare.

That's all I've tried at the moment, but I'll report back as I plough through.

MissB Mure et Musc does repay close attention , especially in the first hour. I completely missed the arrival and departure of a lemon note and a a fresh green note, initially thinking of it as a rather linear and not very interesting, quiet musk.

Today I've discovered Moon Dance (JHaG). I love it! Beautiful modern reworking of an old school style perfume (rose, wood, leather, musk and powder). Reminds me quite a lot of Theo Fennell's Scent, with the skank perhaps turned down a notch? If anyone sees this tun up in |TK Maxx please, please PM me!

Have worn oudh all day long. I have a feeling it's going to be a recurring theme this winter I've quizzed DH and he says it stays close to the skin - may wear this to work next week.

Love Moon Dance MrsCocoa. Violet and tuberose on me, but pretty powerful. Keep catching lovely whiffs of Chergui on my wrist.

Very curious about you oudhs Frugal; is that one of your holiday finds?

Can I slightly hijack perfumistas and ask you to recommend me some blogs? I'm spending a very cold rainy Saturday mooching through but there are so many.....I don't want to miss a jewel!

Thankyou!

My faves - old Bois de Jasmin posts that Victoria wrote herself. Yesterday's Perfume. And of course (if you have an e-reader) Turin&Sanchez.

Cresset the oudhs are from Dubai. I sniffed cheaper and more expensive offerings at various malls (did not have time/ patience/ expertise for souks so I got some vendor recommendations from Middle East based Basenoters). I loved how liberal locals were with perfume - tuberose-scented air fresheners and saffron roses. The ones that I liked best were oudh-based ones from Ajmal. They do both oils and alcohol-based perfumes. I sampled a few on strips and tried some on my wrist. Back at our place DH really liked them, so I took a taxi back and bought a bottle for him and another for me. My strongest oudh before this trip was Leather Oud from Dior - these are a bit like it, but more fecal. You get some camel dung in the opening, after that it's a complex woody-incense-leather-musk. No idea whether these are the real thing or just a clever synthetic, but a great souvenir anyway. The bottles are a hoot - blingy to the max. Here is

I recommend this one. iscentyouaday.com/ Covers every price range.

I also love The Candy Perfume Boy. I've met him, he's lovely. thecandyperfumeboy.com/

and Persolaise and Australian Perfume Junkies and The Scented Hound

persolaise.blogspot.co.uk/
australianperfumejunkies.com/
thescentedhound.com/

Thank you!

I already read Yesterday's Perfume, and have bookmarked the others now.

Frugal, I may have to ask my sister who lives in Dubai for a birthday present....

I particularly love Candy Perfume Boy, because I won my Perfume Society membership after commenting on his blog.

Love that promo video, FF - I see what you mean about blingy packaging.

SOTD is Clinique Calyx. Zingy green, still one of my all time favourites.

Cresset your sister will probably be able to find lovely things for you!

Be warned though that some ME perfumes are pretty heavy-handed and the opening note of oudh oils can be overpowering shit/mold/rot. I picked a mixture of Indian and Cambodian oudhs (assuming the seller can be trusted) and that seemed to tone down the fecal tones and add sweetness, but you still get a heavy initial blast. We've also found that these start with a bang, have a delicious afterglow, but are gone by the evening. DH complains that it is gone too fast. Quite a few of the feminine mukhallats I tried had so much saffron that they zinged my nose hairs. One of the feminines I tried is called Sacrifice And this was definitely my favorite bottle...

A few more packaging pics for you - typically a dozen of these were arranged on a tray, as glittery as the skyscapers there - wish I had had time to explore properly! Anyway my daughters thought it was heaven but they didn't really like what they smelled.

I've just ordered an Ormonde Jayne discovery box of 12 samples for £25 .I think it's normally quite a bit more.The offer finishes today apparently.
Sotd is Nahema on yet another wet cold day.We were forecast snow!
Wow I love those pictures Frugal.They're so extravagant looking and over-the-top.

Getoff I have that box and yours sounds like a good deal!

MissBattleaxe hanks for linking to Persolaise's blog! I really enjoyed his recap of the Luca Turin talk - if you sample some of the perfumes he mentions, you'll experience some great things. Persolaise has a small book that is really good, it's called Le Snob - Perfume (awful title, nothing snobbish about it, it is a helpful and friendly book).

Sorry about flooding the thread with Middle Eastern stuff but I am reading a travel guide and wanted to share the following paragraph:

"At female gatherings, a selection of perfumes will be passed around on a tray. Each woman will remove the stopper of the scent she prefers and anoint her face and clothes. Afterwards the incense burner is filled and passed around, so that each guest can fan scented smoke onto her face. Men may also use incense. These ceremonies signify the end of the session."

Imagine if we had some of that And this is also probably why the bottles are so ornate.

Here's a story from Elle on perfumes in Dubai. And I also found a great series of articles on oudh on Fragrantica.

I am trying to order one of those now GetOff and the OJ website is not playing nicely. All you all on there for the sample set?

Thank you Frugal for the pictures and links; I've been to Dubai a number of times, and to Oman, but have never had time or opportunity to explore the world of oudh. We did brink back some frankincense once, which featured in a Nativity play!

Oh dear, we've slipped to page 3 so there the risk of forgetting to post, or we are too busy with real life?

SoTD will need to be fairly subtle, as we have parent-teacher consultations after school, and I wouldn't like to frighten anyone. Maybe Dzing! The rubber notes might speak to a bunch of science teachers and engineers.

Jo Malone Nutmeg and Ginger is SOTD today.I think I will layer Dark Amber and Ginger Lily over the top now,as I can only smell the basenotes.
Did you manage to buy the Ormonde Jayne set Cresset?I've also just bought the Teo Cabanel sample set directly from the website as it was pretty inexpensive .I havn't wanted to sample for a long time.But its a beautiful sunny day here.The birds are singing and the Bullfinches are glowing against the deep blue sky above my kitchen skylight and I feel like trying something new.

I toyed with the idea of buying the Ormonde Jayne set, but thought better of it (will probably kick myself). It has now gone back up in price.

SOTD is Shay & Blue Blood Oranges. It stays orange-y all day, with a lovely warm woody base. I must find more of it.

Rumour has it L'Artisan is changing packaging so look out for even more in TK Maxx. Also, some Miller Harrises are going to be discontinued so they'll be in TK Maxx too. I say a bottle of Premier Figeur in TK Maxx for 22 for 100ml. I couldn't buy it so near Christmas. SOB.

SOTD for the past two days: Infusion de Vetiver from Prada. Totally unisex, incredibly work-appropriate and with a wonderful twist of licorice.

No, sadly did not succeed with the special price OJ set. It buffered and buffered and never moved on. Next time. Wore Eau d'Hiver to parent teacher evening; that's subtle, so subtle I can't smell it now!

Shall I layer -- for my own plaisir? Hmmm...