Old-fashioned Flemish Fragrance Fanciers - Lovely, Friendly Perfume Thread 7

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Our old thread

Welcome to our new lovely, friendly thread for perfume lovers. All are most welcome to drop in and chat, whether dabbling in scent for the first time or as full-blown fragrance junkies.

Tell us your Scent of the Day, or latest discovery, or ask a question - because one of us is almost bound to know the answer.

Ooh lots of lovely posts to catch up on.

OhWhat sorry, no, I don't have Wonderwood. The unwanted masculine samples are from the Discovery Club boxes so they are mainstream and usually fairly recent releases.

I loved the Cazalet Chronicles, apart from the much later fifth title, which I felt was a lot weaker. There was so much period detail and it was all fascinating. I felt Elizabeth Jane Howard did a marvellous job of recreating the England of her youth. Though, of course, one does want to shriek YABU and LTB at some of the characters.

PIAM you set me off wondering about wartime perfume and thinking that with supplies from France cut off there must have been a shocking scarcity. And I found this article which brought home how demoralising it must have been when on top of everything else women had to cope with, they couldn't even buy cosmetics. No 'lipstick effect' for them, poor things.

Kittens Une Rose Chyprée sounds heavenly. Another Tauer to hanker after. And your Notino basket sounds lovely.

Mary yes, perfect Harry Potter scent choices! How about this for Professor Umbridge?

Badders try a spray of L'Heure Bleue sometime. It is far, far more beautiful on skin than it is sniffed from the bottle. Ditto Vol de Nuit, Jicky and Mitsouko, I think. I hope you enjoy your samples Cheap but, be warned, it was not so long ago that I was sniffing the classic Guerlains out of curiosity and now I am completely hooked on them.

I left Pillow Talk off my 4160 Tuesdays favourites list. How could I?! And I left Givenchy III off the favourite greens list. Shame on me.

Wishing your DP the very best of luck tomorrow Judy.

for all ailing and frazzled perfumistas.

SOTD was Vent Vert (Cellier) because it was a sunny day and I can't possibly not wear it until next spring. Bliss from the piercing blast of galbanum to the beautiful musky floral drydown.

Sherry my old Irish Nan used to say that too! Probably wise not to get caught up in the AC hype - only really getting it cause I’ve run down my products & don’t have any favourites to repurchase (excuses I keep telling myself). Never had a beauty AC so pretty excited!

Ivy I think Miller Harris as a house so some fabulous scents. The longevity isn’t great though- not nearly as bad as Jo Malone but given the price somewhat disappointing. I find testing them at home has been more successful than in the shop. I get scent blind in their shop.

I have tried many of them but my absolute favourite is Noix de Tubereuse- I just find it gorgeous but you obviously need to like Tuberose! This one is different in that the longevity is fab. I can still smell it under my watch 2 days later

Other lovely ones are etui Noir (leather, good for layering), rose silence (a pretty straight rose), coure de fleur (pretty floral garden),

I really don’t like Feuilles de Tabac but I know others love it. La fumee is also smoky but much more wearable

Lumiere Doree is an interesting citrus fragrance- I’ve not smelt anything like it and I enjoy wearing it but it has got mixed reviews

I think I must be a marketer's dream but I love the range of advent calendars and the idea of a surprise every day for a whole month! I think I prefer the idea to presents on Christmas day to be honest, and would love it if someone developed the January calendar which could be put under the tree but still have the sustained magic of the unknown!

Really interesting article Green. Loved the phrase Brits thought women in make up "rather fast". It would be inteeesting to see how some of those messages would be received in today's society - the whole women, it's your duty to look pretty thing would be a difficult well but at the same time I do think there would be appeal in the idea that your enemy's against cosmetics...

Oh, and protective foundation! Crikey!!

I tried Mugler’s Aura and couldn’t place one particular familiar note. Reading the thread, I now realise it was deep heat! Weird

Morning..

PP Rive Gauche today as couldn't be arsed to think about anything else...

Judy- good vibes for dh from here too. The Lipstick Effect reminds me of my university French stylistics exam which was to analyse an Oil Of Olay (Ulay/Olaz) advert.

Badders- I love LHB yet I don't actually like it. What's all that about I wonder? Along with the Tauers it's what I will automatically reach for once I'm in my pyjamas and I am desperate for a FB and yet I don't know why! (PS Apres L'Ondee is hugely violetty, are you sure they didn't give you the wrong bottle to sniff? )

Littlechou- yes, Aura is interesting- not sure I'll ever want to wear it, but it did intrigue me. I was heading for a sniff of Alien (which seems to be everyone on MN that isn't on this thread's signature scent) but was waylaid by spray-y woman.

My favourite MH are Feuilles de Tabac (possibly because I dislike Tobacco Vanilla so much though) and the Fumee ones. There was a Fumee something or other that was very Tauer-y.

MH annoy me though as I think (I'd be interested to hear what Judy thinks) as a brand they are churning out too much, too quickly, too similar. You stand before their display, they all look identical- (I don't like this mono-packaging thing, it stops me being able to identify) and you don't know where to start, and then pretty soon you get bored. And that will be their downfall- the ones I love, I love in a FB kind of way, but they need to clear out the dross because the wonders are getting lost by the others. They're not flankers as such, but they may as well be. And the shop in CG does my head in. It's 50cm across, there are 2 assistants, and you only have to come within a metre of the door and they pounce. Just no.

Good luck to your DH for today, Judy. Fingers crossed all goes well.

SOTD is Up the Apples and Pears. I'm really liking this - it's a lovely autumn scent.

SOTD will be Youth Dew, in memory of my mum who died a year ago today.

In a funny way I have that horrible time to thank for my new perfumista obsession. I bought myself a bottle a couple of weeks after she died, and wore it religiously for a few months. It occurred to me that it was the first time ever that I'd bought perfume for myself. I googled it and found the story of how YD was developed by EL as exactly that - a perfume that a woman could buy for herself. I liked the synchronicity, and started reading the perfume threads on here...got drawn in and here I am.

So today will be an odd, sad day, but I will have a lovely, classic scent full of memories to keep me going. After all, you can't do much but keep on keeping on when you're wearing Youth Dew!

for you Kittens. It's a bittersweet memory to have.

kittens, I bought some Panache to remember my mum by. Scent is so evocative and it just seems like a nice way to hold on to those memories a bit longer. Will be thinking of you - it's hard to lose a parent no matter how old you are when it happens.

I did think about creating a little 'scent memories' collection to remember family who have died.

Oh Judy fingers crossed for your DH! Especially for you guys, I have just lit a Prosperity incense stick and SOTD is Paloma Picasso (which has got me a job in the past!). A very strange coincidence - I had just read your post and my DH’s mobile just rang with a call from an agency about an interview for today Long shot though so I’m allocating The Special Incense to your DH today

The Lipstick Effect is interesting, I knew it was a thing but didn’t realise it was actually called that It’s definitely true in our house, I have almost as much lipstick as perfume and a broken washing machine .

Kittens it’s rare for me to buy a FB these days tbh, if I adore a sample I tend to rebuy (and check the Perfume Parlour version ). Probably false economy tbh.

Welcome back littlechou! I have never actually tried Aura or Alien as I loathe and despise Angel so much but now am thinking I might give Alien, at least, a whirl. Was it you green who had Alien Essence Absolute - would this be a better choice to start with, do you think?

Also quite tempted by Deep Heat and Toothpaste And Spice! That actually sounds like mine and DH’s signature scents, respectively

Oh kittens I’m such a slow typer that I didn’t see your last post. Anniversaries are hard. for you and I hope that Youth Dew is comforting for you today.

Kittens x

Aura = mouthwash

It was def LHB...im trying to figure out what I didn't like about it and am struggling.

Knowing is sotd

Thanks all, kind words are much appreciated.

judy, fingers x'd today!

Aha!
Just been on fragrantica and it's bloody aniseed NOT almonds I could smell!!
I just knew there was something vile in it!

Oh yes, just what I wanted - a perfume thread!! Is anyone familiar with Eau des Matines cologne spray from the Couvent des Minimes range? All my local Boots have stopped supplying it- I think I found it on mail order for about £30 but when I originally bought it in Boots it was a tenner?

Wishing you a peaceful day Kittens . Youth Dew is very evocative of my mother too. I had tears in my eyes when I sniffed it again for the first time because it conjured up her memory so strongly.

Floofy it's Alien Essence Absolue I have and it is gorgeous - rich, heavy, velvety, smoky vanilla. I didn't care for Alien at all, but with my track record that probably means I shall love it the next time I smell it.

Ivy, I have four Miller Harris fragrances:

Cassis en Feuille (green, blackcurrant buds, tomato leaf)
Fleurs de Sel (salty, herby, cold beach)
L'Air de Rien (dusty, musky vanilla)
Geranium Bourbon (peppery spicy geranium)

To me they are all "quiet beauties". They only project for a couple of hours or so, but last for much longer as a skin scent, with wafts coming up throughout the day. I enjoy them very much (they are all very different to each other). I definitely intend to test more.

Judy, fingers crossed for your DH. 🙂

Yes PIAM about the CG MH shop - everything looks the same, assistants are lovely but it’s too much. It’s feel claustrophobic and I get scent blind. I’ve very much enjoyed all those I’ve tried at home (from PS boxes mainly) even if they’re not all my cup of tea

SOTD is Etat Libre d’Orange You or someone like you. I smell like a kitchen herb garden which is full of mint. Quite nice if that’s what you want to smell like.

I need to try Mugler Alien. I think I’ll like it but must resist spraying more than once because Muglers tend to
be pretty lethal!

Xxx for kittens and fingers crossed for judy

Sorry not heard of that staples have you checked fragrntica for notes? You might be able to find something similar

Hi Staples, they have Eau des Matines on Ebay for about £25/100 mls. Also it is on Amazon. But they don't seem to have the 250mls/500ml sizes. Perhaps they are not made in the larger sizes, unlike others in the range. I have Eau des Missions and Eau Aimable and love them both, but particularly the Missions, which is a beautiful boozy, toffee vanilla.

I managed to get a tester of Aura and really enjoyed the sour fruit opening. I also liked the next stage but found it had disappeared completely after a couple of hours, so dismissed it. I'm not going to pay £60 (or whatever) for something which I have to respray constantly!

I'm very tempted by Alien Essence Absolue. I keep having another spray every time I pass it in Debenhams. Well, on one arm, the other arm has Cinema!

for kittens. I hope your day is ok... Youth dew and private collection are both scents that conjure up my mum. It’s so bittersweet when smell is such an intense memory jogger.

SOTD for me Kilian - Good Girl Gone Bad.
Lovely, fun blend of jasmine, Indian tuberose, amber, narcissus and other delights

Thank you Calm I will look, I suppose I was assuming it would just magically turn up for a tenner elsewhere! And thank you Bluebell I will be interested to see that will google.