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

[GreenPolishToGo]

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.

Hello ladies. Sotd is Wrights Coal Tar Soap as I have a stinking cold.

I've been rotating Mitsouko, Le Heure Bleue and Femme lately. Magie Noire isn't for the faint hearted, I knew I had the mother of all sniffles on another occasion when I couldn't smell it.

Soir de Paris by Bourjois was a popular 50s scent and not too expensive, also Tabu, which was a favourite of my grandmother.

Never smelt Moondrops but love Jontue by Revlon which is a white floral and is heady without being headache inducing.

Just going to leave this here in case anyone needs it.

gwangwangwan

Do it for me! (I have the same set but one of them is different- it's one we have been discussing very recently so one of you should have a punt!)

PIAM

I can't partake because I have just bought fifty-quid's-worth off notino I'm a good girl, I am.

kittens. Hope you enjoyed your Youth Dew today.

I vanilla-minger-ed it today with a heavy-handed application of Black Opium. The day was so grey, my workload was heavy...I just needed cheering up ....and it worked.

I have all of them except Clandestine which I don't remember and Anais Anais which isn't my bag.

7 threads in and my first post! just gone for Serge Lutens Five O'Clock Gigembre.... love his orange blossom so fingers crossed

Oh I love Five o'Clock Gingembre badasscafe, such a lovely warming, spicy scent. I'm a big fan of Lutens in general; haven't yet tried a perfume in the line I didn't like (and several I love). Hope you enjoy it

Funny you should mention Lutens, I was thinking about wearing Feminite du Bois.

I'm continuing my sweet them tonight and am in Inevitable Crimes of Passion. Glorious chocolate orange. I wish it lasted longer, though.

theme

kittens. It sucks doesn't it. Strangely, if she wore anything my mum liked opium, but at the moment it's the smell of my son's school shirt that reminds me of her cause it's the same material as her last work uniform. I hope the Youth Dew has been comforting and sparked happy memories...

I might keep half an eye on that PIAM Please someone else bid. I haven't got the nerve for this!! I don't have any old bottles yet

SOTD was Jicky. I was expecting Shalimar minus the vanilla without having given any thought to what that might actually be. Strongest note was the lavender. But what lavender! So fresh - not like the sleepy sprays and oils I'd usually think of. Quite nice and something almost fennelly too. I like it. Not bee bottle levels of like, but definitely look forward to wearing again levels, which is perfect really.

Hello, fragrant ones - thank you all so much for the good wishes. The interview went well, but it looks like things will move slowly as there's a second interview round and the person leading that is based abroad and not in the UK until next month. Urgh.

kittens I hope you're doing okay.

SOTD was Rive Gauche, but am now in my pyjamas with MMM Fireplace after a second shower.

[Flowers] for EK.

Hope it went OK Judy?

Have the Miller Harris Woods 3 x 15mls collection (La Fumee, Fleurs de Sel, Feuilles de Tabac). Really love the first two, struggle with the last (swap anyone?). Also have samples of Lumiere Doree and Tea Tonique both of which are fine summer holiday scents. Like LD much more than Neroli Portofino...

Think Lyn Harris is interesting - the M&S collaboration was very good, and isn't she part of Nose? Like the small bottles too.

Now I want to buy some coal tar soap Auld. I'd forgotten how satisfying it smells.

Evening in Paris was the perfume the seller had poured away to make the bottle easier to post... I haven't smelt the vintage version, only the reformulated Soir de Paris, which I gather is quite different. There are quite a few vintage bottles knocking around in the US, so either it wasn't that popular here or, and I suspect this is more likely, perfume was then too precious to forget at the back of a drawer and so they tended to get used up.

Do we also get a lovely cup of tea PIAM? I love those old miniature sets. I'm quite certain my first bottles of Fidji and Magie Noire came out of one of them. I wonder what the other bottles were because I don't have any memory of them at all. I do wish Boots still did those sets but I suppose nowadays they would just be full of Pink Mingers.

Cheap I was surprised at how much I liked Jicky. Everything I'd read suggested it was a "difficult" scent, which is an acquired taste so I really didn't expect to like it on first spray. I wonder how much the current version differs from the original. Guerlain must know because they still have the original formula books. How fascinating it would be to see them.

Hello badass always room for another perfumista. Five O'Clock Gingembre is one I'd like to try sometime. Among many others!

Good to hear the interview went well Judy. Fingers crossed firmly for the next round.

So what's in the post Kittens? I do enjoy a vicarious sampling session.

SOTD is vintage Alliage and I quite see why Teta thought she smelt like a lumberjack! It starts off with lovely sparkling citrus notes, followed by very pungent pine notes, the lumberjack - but which put me in mind of a Glade air freshener - and then, just as I'd decided it wasn't for me, it dried down into a fabulous heavy green mossy scent which has lasted for hours. I just need to get used to the lumberjack/Glade air freshener notes.

Thank you for all the kind thoughts and flowers today. We've been ok; work very kindly let me take a day off today so I spent it with my dad; we went to the crematorium and also bought a (heavily fragranced of course!) rose to plant in the garden. And I came home to a bouquet from some friends, which was lovely.

judy, glad to hear it went well, hope the next stage goes well and quickly!

Am rather excited about my Notino order, lots of lovely new stuff to try!

Well if you absolutely insist, green .

And after this I absolutely, completely, totally CANNOT buy anything else until 2018! (Although have just realised I didn't add Femme to the basket...)

Serge Lutens Féminité du Bois
Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles
Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan
Lanvin Arpége
L'Artisan Parfumeur Timbuktu
L'Artisan Parfumeur Traversée du Bosphore
L'Artisan Parfumeur Les Explosions d'Emotions Amour Nocturne
Dior Diorissimo
Dior Dune
Dior Addict
Hermès 24 Faubourg
Guerlain Shalimar
Guerlain Mitsouko
Gres Cabochard
Clinique Aromatics Elixir
Comme Des Garcons Girl (Pharrell Williams)
Aedes De Venustas Aedes de Venustas

Ooh lovely list kittens -you’re going to have a lot of fun with those and I will keep you busy til Christmas- you won’t need to purchase anything else til next year!

Good news Judy. But the waiting sounds tough

My Look Fantastic Advent Calendar arrived- I’ve already opened all the contents and it’s brilliant. £79 is a lot but I was about to buy a few of the products I need (makeup mainly) now I don’t need to and it’s already saved me money! Unfortunately no fragrances, but I can’t believe the amount of decent products and brands in there. There are a few things which I don’t need, but I know people I can gift them to. If you’ve ordered it, then you’re in for a treat! The box is gorgeous although the drawers a bit stiff so not sure how it will fare for sample storage (ie daily use).

I’m still looking for a fragrance calendar to actually open in December! Anybody seen one that’s not Jo Malone? If not I might make my own as someone suggested on the other thread using the empty LF box

Auld - I'm enjoying Wrights Coal Tar handwash .

SotD was Mure et Musc. I reckon this is under-rated. It's a beautiful citrus/blackberry musk. Basil and mandarin (and lemon) add interest at the start then a hint of moss adds depth and chill. Although quite different, it does a similar job of clean/soapy/comforting yet interesting as les Nuit d'Hadrien. Still going 11 hours later too.

Hello Badass!

Love the list, kittens. I haven't tried the Serge Lutens ones yet although they are on my wish list.

SOTD is Avignon. I can see me getting a full bottle of this one and LADDM...just need to save the pennies.

kittens if I love a perfume after trying a sample, I look on eBay to see if I can get a FB. I’ve lucked out with new or nearly new bottles at 50-70% discount

I have sorted my boxes! Just spent a very agreeable hour or so categorising. I now have:
Vintage soaps, talcs, bathcubes and quirky perfumery which I want for the packaging but would never wear. (this includes the Max Factor cat and the Coty Paris that I haven't even opened the packaging of, because it's so "fastened up" and once it's opened would be impossible to maintain in its elderly, yet pristine condition etc)
Vintage Perfumes that can be used at will, but must NEVER be finished until a bottle/sample of equal vintage has been obtained
Stuff that I like that can be sprayed liberally as it's still on the market (always keeping an eye out for reformulations though)
Stuff I need to try for the first time or give a more considered observation of
Mingers.

The penultimate category is the biggest (no shit Sherlock) The last category thus far has 9 things in it (because I kept thinking I would chuck stuff I really didn't like first time round in it and then felt guilty for not trying hard enough!) In this box thus, we have: a Bulgari Omnia thingy I got free/Flowerbomb (will stick in with dd's Christmas presents, she'll love it probably)/MQueen (never smelled it but seem to have about 10 samples of it)/Oyedo/Field Notes From Paris/Attache-moi (Time) (possibly the most horrific thing I've ever smelled- seriously, I almost gagged- beats Oyredo hands down) /Another Oud/PP Manifesto/PP Addict (I'll get my coat)

Now, while I was sorting, I worked out which sample had smashed and left a wondrous perfume in my sample box- it was the vintage Y I ordered from 4160 when I ordered my samples over the summer. So, absolutely, new Y is but a mere imprint on the universe in comparison.

The 4 Yardley Soliflores I ordered for dd's stocking arrived yesterday along with the Je Reviens I had to have to get free postage. Verges a bit too much into old lady even for me tbh. Need to try a proper vintage version.

Cheap- do you like Seville a' L'Aube- that is heavy on lavender but not in a pot pourri kind of way.

EK- glad you had a peaceful day- love your list and look forward to hearing what you think. (taking my last Nose samples onto the balcony into bright sunlight and using a magnifying glass I managed to work out what they were- the labels had not been done properly and I couldn't remember what I'd ordered, but I also have a Timbuktu and a Dzing (is it?) to try.

Boldly- I need FBs of both Avignon and LADDM too.

SoTD Feuilles de Tabac, although I also have what I have decided is Tam Dao on the top of my arm, an unlabelled sample - I only got 2 from this particular seller Tam Dao and Coromandel and it's definitely not that.

SOTD is MG Fire. Giving it a second go because I was disappointed first time round. This time is better - the vetiver note is less noticeable. However it's still a bit meh, tbh. And I have absolutely no idea why it's called Fire - there's absolutely nothing fire-y, warm, smoky or exciting about it. It's a perfectly polite, inoffensive, unobtrusive scent, perfect for the office but absolutely not setting my world alight!

However, I will try it again next week and see what I think. I've got an FB so might as well learn to like, if not love, it!

But talking of FBs that I do love, I'd like to just say what an excellent idea an FB of Avignon would be for anyone even mildly tempted . As for LADDM, well a girl can dream...

I didn't like Fire either. It was a total scrubber for me, literally- a "get me to a bathroom quick" scrubber.

This lot put me on a perfumista disciplinary for that

Haven’t tried fire although I would be keen to try

SOTD Miller Harris Étui Noir layered with E Coudray Rose Tuberose. I’m really enjoying these two together. Some more hits from my Perfume Society box “Latest Launches”. I think this is the best value box to date - I like most of the scents (there are a couple of nice PMs which I’ve gifted to young colleague) and there are three large samples from Miller Harris and E Coudray over 7.5ml each - pretty good for £12.50!