Witches brew root canals and carrots; Lovely, Friendly Perfume Thread - 8

[MrsPestilence]

A continuation of our Long running thread. Think this is just in time.

Lots of lovely things to smell.
Everyone is welcome.

Not sure I'm limber enough for this tonight Cheap . Sticking with LT's view of the word, "The nose detects molecular vibrations which is what we call smell". So molecular vibrations might exist without a nose (and brain), but not the smell itself? He explains odours and the sense of smell .

PS. Would happily agree that the meaning of perfume is constructed within language.

SOTD was L’Air de Rien. I got my Gypsy Water sample, bit non-descript but will give it a whirl tomorrow.

MrsP! Could Iris Nazarena be DH's Holy Grail?

He thinks he will keep the Tauer Ville Patch Flash (good of him!).

I got a bottle of the Rome 1948 (if that's the right number) in the 4160 Tuesdays half price offer. Thought it was absolutely not me, white flowers, but thought I should try something different, and I really like it!

Still undecided about SOTD. May go for Maxed Out, but I spend a large chunk of the day in a very small room with my teacher, and it may overwhelm him.

I had the same experience with Rome 1963 MrsS. Now yhyink its fabulous, having overlooked it as a white floral for a long time. It's the tobacco note that seduces me.

SotD is Rhubarb & Citrus. Think I need a bigger bottle whilst still available at Indiegogo prices. However, l gave DC a lift in the car whilst wearing it earlier this week and one of them asked "what's the funny smell of rhubarb and sweat?". Frankly, it smells so wonderfully rhubarby and acidly invigorating, I don't care..

It's an easier wear than Scent, and Maxxed Out, that's for sure.

Must be the week for sweaty things

SotD is Brooks Brother's Black Fleece. Lots of fresh bergamot mixed with layers of almost grubby saffron, oud, matte, patchouli, tobacco and incense. If yesterday was middle eastern business man, today is middle eastern labourer.

MrsS I am so curious about what you and your teacher are up to in that small room

I bought a granny square blanket in a charity shop last week. The entire thing is made in cream cotton rich yarn. It was the usual £5 that is charged for interesting coloured acrylic. Each ball of yarn would have cost more than that and it is exquisitely executed. DD returned from Uni last night and took about 10 mins to discover its lush softness (She has a wool allergy and it was purchased with her in mind). Is it good craft or art?

Almost a scent twin today mrsm I’m in rhubarb & custard. As I said up thread, I also get a sweaty accord but on my third wear I’m really liking it. A bit brave as I’m sitting in the office today. However, I want to keep people at bay today as I have a report deadline and yesterday was constantly interrupted. So out of office on and perfume armour in place!

Wearing Tobacco Rose today. This has made me fall in love with Rose all over again, it's just so perfectly blended by a real master. Sheer layers of pure Rose overlaying salty Ambergris and a very subtle Oakmoss. The sample vial sprays abstemiously and I need to spray more - I'm an addict .
I feel a bottle beckoning.

Knitted things are completely dependent on the quality of both the wool and the ability and skill of the craftswoman/man. My mum knits beautifully after years of nursing night shifts and hates using acrylic yarn, but it means that any garment she makes costs nearly as much as the sample garments the yarn makers sell.

On another topic: has anyone ever cleaned a used Tavalo successfully? I have found the missing rollerball which was filled with CdG Serpentine (in a cup of pens). That's a bit summery for this time of year but I don't want to contaminate whatever I replace it with, and I have plenty more of the Serpentine (a less ££ riff on MMM Untitled).

Ooh teta that sounds wonderful!

Can anyone recommend anything similar to BeauFort 1805 (Tonnerre) my DH loves it but a FB is very pricey.

Right, back to report writing!

After two days in bed feeling sorry for myself with what turns out, unsurprisingly, to be a chest infection, I'm actually up and about and feeling almost normal for the first time in weeks! I'm celebrating with a walk round to the dry cleaners (steady on girl!) and a comforting blast of Tam Dao. Have really grown to love this and am slightly ashamed that my first thoughts were that it reminded me of experimental cooking in a student residence kitchen (cheap joss sticks and generic 'curry powder')

Have had an email saying my 4160s are on their way...would be typical to leave the house for the first time since Tuesday and miss them...

Glad you said that Pest - I was wondering too . Hope you're getting better EK?

When some of my friends knit or crochet it's art; when I do it it's definitely not

I agree to an extent about the quality of the materials (and that's certainly true of perfume I think) although there are of course many fascinating, skilful and beautiful pieces of art made of out non-conventional/'low-quality' materials.

For me, the idea of 'craft' is fundamentally connected with tradition. I don't mean in the sense that crafts can only be practised by little old ladies sitting on doorsteps or remote islanders, but in the sense that there is often a very clear link to what has gone before, and that's celebrated. Craft is often attached to storytelling as well, I think. It's often quite rooted in time and place, even when it's a re-interpretation.

Whereas 'art' often (not always of course!) aims for a break with the past, a newness, originality etc. A transcendence of time and place, if you will

Therefore on balance perfume is probably more closely linked to art, for me. But having said that there's a huge crossover between the two (and clearly I haven't really thought this through properly!) 4160s are actually a really good modern example of this.

Ramble, ramble. My samples have arrived

Sorry x-post! Yes feeling much better thanks. Sitting here covered in all my samples at once; it's kid-in-a-sweetshop time.

Kittens very good explanation of the difference between art and craft. I think some perfumes are art but not all. Perfumers work to a brief and are artists. Glad that you have a diagnosis and you are starting to feel much better now - it’s terrible when you’ve been ill do so long

Bluebell - the Michael Edwards Fragrance Finder says VC&A Bois Doree, or Escentric Molecules 04.

The Rhubarb & Citrus is still going - it certainly has legs for a cologne.

Am wondering what it would be like in warmer weather? On my right wrist I'm giving Evil Max a run out. Interesting to revisit this having got a taste for tobacco. It's a very smooth, rich cherry tobacco with some moss underneath.

Interesting and educational discussion you lot! Very reductively for me, art can be something a bit up its own arse (Damien Hirst, Tracy Emin, Tom Ford ) whereas craft is more real and tangible. Art is a piece of wood in a poncey installation and craft is a lovely soft yet rough in parts piece of wood that you bring home and polish and put on your mantlepiece.

SoTD London 1969. Introduced my perfumista colleague (the one who is raving over the BO-scented Marmo thingy) she liked it but said I need to spray more as nobody can smell things on me.

SotD Dryad, lovely green fragrance. Notes are Narcissus, oakmoss, galbanum, costus, jonquil and cedrat. I only knew what the first two were so been busy googling, can smell the narcissus/costus and galbanum initially and the oakmoss in the drydown. It's an education this perfume smelling!

Project at work turned a corner today so feeling hopeful for the weekend! Cold now making me cough though .

Is there a difference between following a pattern and making your own design? Feels like there is...

What about bottles as art? Some are certainly beautiful.

SotD was L'Instant de Guerlain. It was ok but I thought I'd like it a bit more based on the notes. Will have to try it again in a week or so and see if I change my mind.

Have overwritten it with Aqua Allegoria Bergamote Calabria. I like it - like a creamer less masculine Oxford (not that I find Oxford too masculine). Definitely a happy smell.

I wonder if perfumery is seen as a lesser 'art' because smell is seen as a lesser sense than sight and hearing. Something as beautiful as Guerlain's L'Heure Bleue should rise to the heights of 'art', I think. But then something like Tommy Hilfiger's Loud just strikes me as a cynical creation of marketing and mass-production.

My sense of smell has been working overtime this evening thanks to the kindness of MrsMac, who sent me samples of Caldey Island Number One, Jane Packer Red Rose, Black Violets & Cyclamen and Molton Brown Apuldre. All unlabelled so I could conduct my own personal spot the fragrance test. It's been great fun and it is, of course, far, far easier to work out which is which from three candidates, rather than identify blind samples from scratch.

Thanks to the cleverness of MrsMac in selecting such very different scents I have managed to work out all three, fall in love with the Jane Packer (roses 'natch) and note delightedly that MrsMac was bang on when she observed Caldey Island Number One was reminiscent of L'Heure Bleue. And also to think it's a pity DH would never be persuaded into sporting Apuldre. Lovely choices, all of them.

Wow, Bluebell your DH must be the first person I've heard of who actually likes Beaufort London 1805! It has taken such a hammering on these threads.

I don't think I've smelt Geoffrey Beene Grey Flannel since I was a teenager. I remember liking it then but, silly me, it wouldn't have occurred to me to wear a masculine fragrance myself.

Sarah Mac continues her hit rate with me because, having tried the other two, now I can say I really like all three of the 4160 Tuesdays Rhubarb and Custard scents. The Rhubarb and Citrus Cologne was pleasantly tart and refreshing, and will make a lovely alternative to the Aqua Allegorias in hot weather. And it had impressive longevity for a cologne. I loved the tobacco note in the Vanilla Custard and it is a much more beautiful going to sleep scent than Lush's Vanillary. I really want larger bottles of all of them now.

News on the Les Senteurs front. DH popped in the other day (he says the reason why is none of my business ) and was told the Elizabeth Street shop is now due to re-open at the end of December. The Marble Arch shop will then close. Apparently the builders knocked down two walls they shouldn't have...And the assistant told him they are going to discontinue stocking the 10ml Frederic Malles. Madness!

This is a public service announcement:

PINK MINGER alert! Rendezvous by Atelier Cologne. Read the notes (osmanthus, citrus, suede/leather) and thought, sounds alright. I'll go straight for the wrist rather than the card.

Euuuuuuuuuw. I have discovered osmanthus is something I definitely do not like, it didn't even get to the citrus/suede bit (which sounded a bit like London 1969) as I had to run and scrub.

To hide the remnants, (ain't that the way, that a PM scrubber has longevity even when it's AC!) I am now in a veritable cloud of proper Miss Dior.

SoTD Tart's Knicker Drawer. Perfect for a cold November Saturday. All traditional floral.

Last night I was considering covering the traces of Dryad with another perfume before bed. Oh no says DH, this is lovely. Asked him this morning if he preferred TKD or Dryad. Definitely Dryad. This wasn't really a surprise to me, he's not a fan of anything that's excessively feminine so a green perfume would always be preferable to a floral to him. But it made me wonder about the perfumes we think are sexy vs those that are suitable for work. Maybe the suitable for work perfumes are those that some men find the sexiest. Not that I'd ever think of TKD as a perfume for work, even if it's not sexy it's too feminine.

SOTD is Another Kiss By The Fireside. Yesterday I tried all three 4160s at once (the 3 for 2 offer) and needless to say couldn't make head nor tail of any of them . So this starts with a really pungent smoky blast, and then settles quickly into lavender and cinnamon, and the smoky aspect is just a faint whiff in the background. I like it, could probably grow to love it, would perhaps like a bit more smoke and silage. It's not quite as cosy and comforting as I was expecting. But it certainly does what it says on the tin as far as the notes are concerned.

Sillage not silage...more silage would be a very challenging note indeed

Dryad sounds really nice, Count. I like earthy, woody, green scents.

Love the art vs craft discussion - 1460 definitely blur the boundary.

I'm in L'Ambre Des Merveilles again today. It's a dreary day here and felt like something comforting.

SotD is Byzantium Saffron (thanks Bluebell) and eau de Schnauzer. We have an unexpected house guest as my boss has pneumonia.