Our negligees may be covered in cat hair but at least they smell divine - it's Lovely Friendly Perfume Thread number 9!

[explodingkittens]

Welcome to the long-running perfume thread! All are welcome - drop in to chat about old loves or new discoveries. Ask a perfume question and someone here will know the answer.

Be warned though, we are a bunch of terrible enablers and you may wish to put your credit card in the freezer before entering

Bluebell, try 4160’s Inevitable Crimes of Passion. It is an earthy chocolate/orange/coffee, non-sweet. Also New York 55, which is like an ice cream parlour, raspberry, candy-floss and vanilla with rose and violet as a backdrop, very sweet. They are both marmite scents, so you would need to test first.

I have ordered The Velvet Box!

I want to join the sniffalong, but won't be able to order the velvet box until next weekend, due to finances.

Thanks for your replies about 4160

I’m going to get a custom taster set

1 sunshine and pancakes 2 Silk lace chocolate 3 Tarts knickers drawer 4 The dark heart of Old Havana 5 Captured by candlelight 6 The sexiest scent 7 Rosa ribes 8 The Great Randello 9 Centrepiece

As you can see I’ve got too many! I wanted to try Rosa Ribes and TKD as I’ve only heard good things.

Is New York a must? Is inevitable crimes of passion available as a sample?

^ taster sets include 7 samples I’ve got 9 in my shortlist!

Motoko I think that’s fine for us to wait, we’re sort of waiting for mumsnet to get back to us anyway!

Got my Perfume Parlour Obsession and Samsara. I put the Obsession on yesterday but dont like it, smells like a masculine kind of soap.

Not tried Samsara but sniffed the bottle and I did like that so will go with that I think

Bluebell not actually a gourmand but it smells a little like gorgeous honey on me so have you tried Babylon Sunset? I love this, and it's very "comforting" so a good relaxing evening type perfume, IMO. Maybe more for Summer though.

MrsR I'm probably being extremely thick, but SCOTPEI? Has me baffled!

SOTD is Allure in a cant be arsed to properly choose a scent way, plus I feel a bit wheezy so only anointed my wrists. I can't not wear perfume but it doesn't feel like I'm properly wearing perfume. If that makes any sense

Thanks Bluebell. It's going to be really interesting seeing how different people smell the same perfumes. I've noticed, that of the perfumes I have, that have been discussed on here, I often pick up completely different smells to other people. Shazam! is a good example, because all I get from that is fizzy cola and straight up patchouli. It must be my skin chemistry.

Rosa Ribes is like Dewberry! It's quite linear and is a clear mix of blackcurrent and rose. TKD has lots of raspberry in it. Was thinking about sexiest scent as well, it's like lemon meringue pie so glad you've got that on your list. If you've got 7 in your taster set you can order more as individual samples so your purse is your only limit.

SSOTPEI

SEXIEST SCENT ON THE PLANET EVER IMHO.

oops sorry caps lock on

Bluebell when are you ordering. I think it was Dark Heart where I was super clever and ordered the 9ml at the beginning of half price week so if I liked it I could still get the offer for a FB. I'll check - if it was you can have the 9ml. Might help with narrowing the choices!

SotD is Girl layered with Eau De Le Desparation Of a Morning at a 5 year old Birthday Party.

Went to do the TPS stuff but looks like I can't buy subscription AND get subscriber discounts on boxes at the same time. Does that sound right?

Bluebell - you'll usually get an extra sample with your order anyway; just say what you'd like in notes, plus it's cheaper to add one more sample to an existing order than buy one individually - so add the final one on and your dilemma is solved !

Went to do the TPS stuff but looks like I can't buy subscription AND get subscriber discounts on boxes at the same time. Does that sound right?

Yes. But I ordered the subscription then went back and ordered my velvet box just straight afterwards and it recognised I was a subscriber so I got the discount.

Hi everyone, I hope you don't mind me dropping in with a quick question...I love the look of the Chanel Les Exclusifs (I love the simple, classy bottles and some of the frags sound lovely). Where can I go to try them all out? I'm in Bristol and I know that this will mean going to London, but my googling of likely places (Selfridges, Liberty, harrods) has so far not been fruitful. I expect some/all of these places have them, but they don't confirm on their website. V annoying. Xx

Thanks Count - glad it's not me missing something! Will do it in two stages then...

Bluebell yep it was Dark Heart. I've got half a 9ml bottle going if it would help...

Hi Tea - not sure if it helps but they definitely have them in Selfridges in Birmingham. Is anywhere at Cabot Circus high end enough to be worth trying?

Hello Tea - you need a Chanel boutique (I think that's what they call them). St Pancras is the one I get to most easily but checkout Covent Garden? Am sure other people will have ideas...

SotD is Maai. I feel like a goddess .

Bluebell, you have a good list there. The gourmand notes in New York ‘55, as far as I’m concerned are not as strong as the raspberry/violet/rose ones, so you could perhaps leave that off the list. The Inevitable Crimes is available as a sample, but is costly, an extra £2 on top of the normal price. I have a full bottle of this, so I’m happy to send you a sample, if you like? This, and Rome 1963, are probably my favourites from this line.

MrsR Of course it is I'm having a very stupid day

TeaAndToast some of the Exclusifs are available as small decants/samples on eBay. Of course it's slightly riskier than going to Chanel but I tend to buy from UK sellers with excellent feedback and photos of the original bottle, plus eBay always side with the buyer if you think you have been sold a fake etc. Much more fun going to Chanel though

Now good perfumed people, I am VERY EXCITED but might need your wisdom to rein me in - I have just discovered Perfume Parlour sell a dupe of my beloved and discontinued Cacharel Gloria Have any of you tried it? I would so much hate to buy it and be disappointed If it's rubbish I would rather hear it from you guys

Hello oh fragrant friends!,

Have you missed me?,You've filled 5 pages while I've been gone, it's fab having loads to read!

What a week...it was the moon-night thing on Friday so prep involved being at school every day till 7 and till 11pm on Friday...on Friday Bil passed away (cancer so not a surprise) so yesterday was spent doing the full Italian funeral/burial marathon and today going over again to eat with my sil. Factor in family rows because none of them are ever all talking and they decided to all have a row with poor bereaved sil for inviting the other bil to stay at hers and well, you get the idea.

All week it's been Opium/Shalimar/Tauer so beautifully uninteresting. I did discover Opium layers nicely with Lonesome Rider.

As we were driving yesterday I realised Shalimar has a touch of Obsession about it so it was funny to open the thread today and see the Obsession talk. It was my signature for so many years, from 87 onwards, till about 96 really. I've had the new version but need to get hold of some old juice. My studenty walls were plastered with the old ads and I first discovered it, but couldn't find it, in the April 1986 edition of Cosmo. The wee strip and the first blue toned Kate Moss pervy ad.

SOTD is Byredo Gypsy Water. This is more a spring-y scent, I think. I just read in Marie Claire about a new release they have out in March, the name of which I now can’t remember, which sounded right up my street.

PIAM sorry to hear about your brother in law and your tough week.

piam 💐

Ah thank you Cheap and Calm for your lovely, kind offers. I would like to take you both up on those, but only if I can send you something of mine to try in return. I have the following FB I can decant from ....

4160: WIDOMH
Ruth Mastenbroek: Amarosa
Merchant of Venice: Saffron Byzantium
Miller Harris: Noix de Tubereuse, Etui Noir, Lumiere Doree
Shay and Blue: Framboise Noire
E Coudray: Rose Tuberose

Floofy What a find! I haven’t tried it but hope it is confirmed that it’s close to the original

Piam welcome back, sorry you’ve had such a tough time lately, sorry for your loss. Your poor Sil

TeaandToast it’s probably not going to help you, but I’ve seen all the exclusifs at Stansted and Heathrow airports

Floofy, I had a Perfume Parlour Gloria, just a small bottle of the oil. It was lovely, sweet and floral. I have never tried the original, so I can’t say whether it is a good dupe. The notes on Fragrantica give cherry, amaretto/almonds and vanilla, but I wasn’t able to distinguish individual notes. I just know that I enjoyed it. I’m planning to buy a bigger bottle in my next order, mainly because I managed to drop my original one and the roller ball top sheared completely off!

Perfume, best wishes to you and your family during a difficult time.

So this is my custom 4160 sample box...

1 Sunshine and pancakes
2 Silk lace chocolate
3 Tarts knicker drawer
4 Rome 1963
5 Centrepiece
6 The sexiest scent
7 The Great Randello
8 Captured by candlelight (suggested extra sample)

Thanks so much for warning me off Rosa Ribes - I hated Dewberry in the 90s, I was a white musk girl.

You guys are awesome- thank you!