Pink mohicans and cats: Lovely, Friendly Perfume Thread 5

[Pestilentialone]

Blimey we nearly ran out of room. last thread
I'm not in charge, honest. I am in Mary Greenwell's Plum, very nice it is too.

So two things:

If anyone would like to order the Tauer sample set and have it delivered to my mum in France, I can bring it back Early September. PM if you want details. I will have to put it in hold luggage though so if you are happy with that then let me know. Tauer was much cheaper in Euros - probs not so much these days what with the woeful exchange rate. My fave of his is Incense Rose. I thought I'd love L'air du desert and I just didn't. Still can't get over that!

So in honour of skankiness I again have tried Turin's five star masterpiece that is Timbuktu. This is my SOTD.

We are not quite into the rank old man stage but I still get NOTHING of the alleged balsamic woodiness as described on Fragrantica. It is supposed to be full of vetiver, incense and papyrus. I get no incense whatsoever and there is an underlying sense of wee. I keep reading the reviews and wondering if I have a dodgy bottle because... Smokey? Ambery? Fruity? Spicey? Not on my skin it ain't. I'm taking it VERY personally.

Such a shame as I adore so many other L'Artisan perfumes.

Glad that we are not completely alone in epic wedding failures. Thanks Judy. And v sorry about your DP's story. It sounds awful. We have lived here for 30 years and the road infrastructure is as inadequate as it ever was, but it is now struggling under the weight of almost double the cars. No government ever does anything to improve things, despite all the promises. The Tories (who have most of the seats) know that won't change regardless and the Socialists don't bother with anything that isn't an inner city. We're doomed to complain forever.

SoTD is everything

Agree with you Pest, by the end of the day there was not a spare square inch of arm left spare! Loved the whole 4160Tuesdays experience.😍

Oooh!! So what did you all cone up with? How was it??

Must have been better than sitting in a temporary office looking at A computer all day - I'm ready for some vicarious enjoyment

Sotd was Tokyo Spring Cafe. Had to be one of them!

Mrs C came armed with inspiration. Sod, a glorious green.

Arms? Calm, by the time we got to the pub I had got B** on my right ankle. Loved your Gourmand Ganache that smelt of the whole sweet trolley. Somebody will lick you, just a matter of time.

Sorry to hear about the wedding OC.

It was a brilliant day Cheap - lovely to meet everyone face to face.

for Sarah and Nick at 4160s who were the kindest hosts.

I didn't get a chance to smell everyone's creation properly, but wow, some outrageously good smelling things emerged. MrsS may have the complete list and working titles?

Grappling with so many lovely materials is just an amazing way to learn more about notes and composition, and Sarah is the best possible guide; encouraging, entertaining and wise. But wow, it's compulsive and takes extended concentration.

I spent the journey home sniffing, wondering a) why I'd left out the coconutty lactones and celery leaf, b) if enough of the base/bass was coming through and c) if I smelt a bit like a dill pickle (that'll be the cucumber aldehydes... )? So I need to switch off and go and lie down somewhere quiet (and hide my FB in a drawer to mature). Time will tell....

How are you all feeling about your creations?

PS. Where are we going next?

Welcome Maui looks like you have landed in the right place. If you fit somewhere in the green perfume bubble, you're a perfumista,

Mrs S created the scent of a rich Moroccan? business man, I fear her husband it about to enter permanent role play. Especially after she named it 'See You Next Tuesday*

Green of course wore green nail varnish to create 'Vipers Outing'.

We were spoilt rotten and allowed to sniff some very exotic, rare and outrageously expensive stuff from Sarah's cupboard of special procurements.

Not dill pickles Mrs C, think Marc Jacobs Cucumber splash. I am now working out how to make Grapefruit splash.

Sounds like you had a fab day, love the idea of See You Next Tuesday. Count me in for the next one!

SOTD is Reverie au Jardin by Tauer. Wow, the lavender is strong in this one. However, I completely agree with Turin and Sanchez (get me!) about the 'chewy' honeyed aspect of this too, there is something quite down and dirty about about it which I wouldn't have expected. It may be a bit too sweet for me in the end - having said that there's an almost chlorine-y, chemical note too - but it's really interesting nonetheless.

So, honeyed lavender yet chemical, bleachy yet dirty. Yeah, I've got this sniffing thing sorted haven't I?

SoTD - it's hot and sunny here so I'm trying again with Bond's Fire Island. I feel nothing for it really...

The house is smelling of PP perfume dust - this time Tom Ford's Moss Breches. It's nice but quite masculine. I'd forgotten I'd put the burner on and thought my non-aftershave wearing husband had suddenly decided to wear some. I'll use it again, but not for weekends and when guests are here! Weekends I like to feel that my house smells like warm love, whatever that may be.

I have some Omani charcoal burners and some Swiss Arabia Bakhoor called Kholast al Oud. It makes the house smell amazing but you have to waft the smoke around and I can't stand the amount of smoke! I wish I could find the same smell without the smoke.

I worked out that I am a balsamic lady. I think my perfect scent would be frankincense with some honey, perhaps some myrrh, with a hint of floral dirt. My perfume preferences def changed after living abroad. The company I worked for had an office smelling perfume budget of £14000 a month (!) - every morning and afternoon a man would go round wafting some glorious smoking burner. I wish my current workplace would do the same!

Re: Obsession - i used to buy an Obsession dupe and use it as room spray. But I was a full on Escape addict at that time (I DRENCHED myself in it, I must have reeked...) I couldn't bear to wear it now.

Yesterday sounds fab, and I am intrigued about both the Moroccan businessman and the green sod!

I am in London 1969 again, and it makes up for the other 4160s that I haven't liked. I love it, and will definitely have a FB at some point.

It was great fun - lovely to meet everyone, and I loved the way that we all came up with something completely different! Despite heading off in different directions, Calmina and I ended up sitting opposite each other on the tube!

DH is not overly impressed with his scent, it has to be said. I have told him to leave it a couple of weeks to let it settle. If he doesn't like it, I'll wear it.

MrsS - I feel outraged on your behalf. I, or I'm sure quite a few actual Lebanese businessmen, would pay very good money indeed to possess something as gorgeous smelling as your creation. .

Thank you for your (continuing) naming inspiration. Given the initial reference point, I am tempted to christen mine, either 'Lucky Sod' (clover ref ), or ' A Bit of a Sod'. (So long as that word is OK to use (in the context of turf)?).

DailyMaui where do we send our CVs; that would get me out of bed on Monday morning ? If you are frankincense fiend (like me) you need to track some Sahara Noir down on eBay, if it's not already in your collection. And what about CdG's Avignon - I predict this is the Bertrand Duchaufour for you .

IWtSLaM - I sniffed the London 1969 thinking of you yesterday!

at Pest. I had to read your post a few times last night to figure out what was going on with a B* on your ankle ( I was tired...). Think it's the B* that has me hankering after a stronger vetiver base for my creation. It's re-set my personal boundaries.....

As we have the mod bottles too, I am going to experiment with a reformulation (careful calibration needed as I don't want to blast over the top & heart) and then potentially see if I can get into the beautiful 4160 bottle without damaging it, to 'tweak' my blend. But I'm leaving it to mature in the sock drawer first. Honest.

Green - Vipers Outing is also inspired naming . And actual green polish - that's attention to detail to admire.

Calmina, Pest is right - I think you may need some sort of risk assessment if you're leaving your home smelling quite that edibly delicious. People will drool...

Who's sniffed this morning and what did you think?

This morning I am sporting a kiss by the fireside on one wrist and another kiss by the fireside on the other. Research you know, comparing old and new formulations. Sarah is right, a kiss has settled down very nicely (after five years) and survived a couple of hours hard graft on the allotment far better.

Have been very good and not sniffed my concoction yet. Need all those dark smokey notes to get intricately involved with the salt, plum, cucumber and bergamot. Good grief it sound weird when written down but seemed to be the required combination for the affect I was after.

DS(26) has tried to pinch the Shazam already.

Well, I have renamed my perfume "Viennese Coffee Shop" as it has notes of chocolate, coffee, cherry and peach. I wore it this morning and love it, but do have to say I didn't catch anyone drooling in Asda! It is strong (still there 5 hours after I put it on) but not overwhelming, unlike my last creation at Sarah's workshop called "Summer Greenhouse". This was a powerful concoction of blackcurrant, tomato leaves, white birch and woodsy things 😳 , with no sweetness at all. I do use it, but only two drops at a time! (Still like it though.)

Loved your nail polish, Green! And seeing MrsS on the tube half an hour after I left her. We were aiming for different stations on the busy Central line with tubes every 2/3 minutes. Not only did we end up on the same train, but in the same carriage!

I've tried my perfume. It starts off as slicing the last cucumber for an Indian summer Pimms, while watching the gardener clear up and light a bonfire. An hour later you are shagging in the camellias (that will be the tuberose). Tempted to drop a couple of cumin seeds in the bottle .

Did the carriage smell wonderful Calm and Mrs S ?

Mrs Cocoa - I have Sahara Noir. I love it but I'd like it deeper... and dirtier. I don't really know what I mean by that either! Because my fave Passage D'Enfer is anything but dirty - to me it's all light and sparkling frankincense and is dry as a bone. Ethereal and at the same time austere. It's like the perfume equivalent of a really, really dry, very expensive sparkling wine with no biscuity taste. Perhaps with some added vodka. So to counter that I need a frankincense that's like a dark liqueur with a hint of sweet, but only a hint. Smokey and tarty. A boudoir frankincense. I suppose L'Agent is quite like that.

Avignon is not for me at all. I'd like it as a room scent but it just doesn't have the layers I want. I found it a bit overwhelming and linear. However I haven't tried the others in that series and one of those could be the answer.

I've just put L'Artisan's Mechant Loup on and I've no idea why I keep trying it. No warmth, no joy. Just bleh. Note to self - just because a vaguely niche brand is on sale at TKMaxx doesn't mean you have to buy every bottle you see. 😫

I've just seen pest's photo (above, of Sod) on Instagram!

I must absolutely reek at the moment. Jardin au Reverie has disappeared now, so I've been digging around in my drawers (as it were) and have come up with FBs of Nina by Nina Ricci and Par Amour by Clarins, both of which I had completely forgotten I had and I'm not sure I've ever actually worn. The Turin/Sanchez Bible gives 4-star reviews to both of them, so maybe I was always a Perfumista and just didn't know it

So I have Nina on my right wrist, Par Amour on my left elbow and Silver Iris Mist on my left wrist. And, rather indiscriminately, I'm loving all of them for different reasons. There's obviously no hope for me!

I think I need to try Passage d'Enfer, maui, it sounds fab.

That should of course be Iris Silver Mist

Do any of you have full bottles of perfume that you have bought but hate?

If so what are they?

Pest - I so wish I'd got to smell it properly, especially after that description. What are you calling it (sorry if you've already said and I've missed)...? And if you figure out how to open the bottle to get your cumin in let me know....

DailyM - Have you tried the other CdG incenses? I haven't, but want to.

I've got mixed feelings about Passage D'Enfer. Funny you mention wine as I think it almost has a muscatty quality which I like. I also like the novelty of an airy, light incense, but in practice, when I wear it, it feels like the treble's turned up a bit too high. I like my incense a bit earthier - so SN is pretty much perfection . Also YSL Nu (old formulation). Have you tried - might tick the boudoir box?

L'Agent always reminds me of my days wearing Coco (and smells more like how I remember Coco, than Coco does (memory is a funny thing...)). I get sultry oriental rather than out and out incense.

I've just re-read the supposed notes for Mechant Loup and they are hazelnuts, licorice and honey.

Utter bollocks. I get herbal cough syrup. With a touch of dog pee.

L'Agent on me is FULL of insence . It is the dominant note.

God I love perfume. It is never the same on anyone and thus utterly magic.