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The Big Sniff

560 replies

CountFosco · 21/01/2018 19:57

Welcome to The Big Sniff!

Some of us on the Perfumista threads have decided it might be fun to have a synchronised perfume smelling. The idea is once a week, probably a Sunday, we all try the same perfume and post our opinions here. We’re very friendly so don’t worry if you’re not an expert (I’m definitely not!), the idea is to have some fun.

We’ve contacted The Perfume Society and have wangled a 20% discount on a mixed box of 9 perfume samples (plus a hand cream, some cleanser and a bar of Green and Black chocolate - what’s not to like?). The Box we’re going for this time is The Velvet Collection. All you do is visit The Perfume Society website, Add The Velvet Collection to your cart and use the coupon Mumsnet (we’re original like that!). The box is normally £19 (or £15 if you’re a VIP subscriber), but with our discount it is £15.20, (or £12 if you’re a VIP subscriber of The Perfume Society). There are some other lovely boxes on sale at the moment which come highly recommended by some of our Perfumistas and would make lovely gifts or to keep for yourself not enabling at all oh no

If you are interested then sign up here and get over to The Perfume Society and order your box. We’ll do the first Big Sniff on Sunday 28th January. Oh, and before you eat all the chocolate have a look at the sniffing notes, there’s some on the chocolate as well.

The contents of the box are as follows:
• Atkinsons Pirates Grand Reserve 1.2 ml eau de parfum(full size £120 for 100 ml)
• Floral Street Chypre Sublime 1.5 ml eau de parfum(full size £55 for 50 ml)
• Connock Andiroba Eau de Parfum 1.5 ml eau de parfum(full size £75 for 100 ml)
• Avery‘E’ 4 ml pure perfume (full size £90 for 30 ml)
• Lalique Rêve d’Infini 1.8 ml eau de parfum(full size £72 for 100 ml)
• Map of the Heart Gold Heart v.4 1 ml eau de parfum(full size £150 for 90 ml)
• Ruth Mastenbroek Firedance 2 ml eau de parfum(full size £90 for 50 ml)
• Vince Camuto Amore 7.5 ml MINIATURE eau de parfum(full size £60 for 100 ml)
• Valeur Absolue Rouge Passion 1.5 ml eau de parfum(full size £59 for 45 ml)
• philosophy purity made simple 3-in-1 cleanser for face and eyes30 ml lotion (full size £19 for 240 ml)
• Cochine White Jasmine & Gardenia Hand Cream5 ml (full size £24 for 100 ml)
• Green & Black’s Velvet Edition Orange & Almond Chocolate 100 g

OP posts:
CountFosco · 18/02/2018 07:36

Good morning everyone. Floral Street Chypre Sublime today.

Smelling Notes from TPS:
How would you describe the Damask rose? Velvety? Sultry?
What would you plant in your contemporary cottage garden?
Cast a film based on this scent - who would play the lead character?
Imagine a floral display inspired by the fragrance, what are the main colours and textures?
Which three words best sum up Floral Street Chypre Sublime to you? Dark? Bohemian? Sensuous? Over to you...

OP posts:
AnotherPinkiePieStory · 18/02/2018 08:11

Hmmmm lovely warm rose. Can’t distinguish much more. Maybe violet?
No comments on fragrantica so can’t cheat either!
Reminds me of something else. Maybe Paul smith rose? Not really what I chose to wear but pleasent. Waiting for more experienced noses to appear!
As for film, prob Reese Witherspoon. Not really getting the dark/sensuous bit.

CareFusion · 18/02/2018 08:44

Reminds me very strongly of the body shop ? ? tea rose in 1980s.
Too much rose opening for me, i think. Will see if if develops with time.

CountFosco · 18/02/2018 09:46

Reminds me very strongly of the body shop ? ? tea rose in 1980s.

Yes, I pretested and was reminded very much of the rose bath pearls. Too much rose for me.

OP posts:
BigPuddleOfFloofyCatOnTheFloor · 18/02/2018 09:58

Oh for...

Have neglected the perfume threads due to RL being totally FUBAR, this morning I thought "Big Sniff! Will wear the SOTD and catch up"...

I'm wearing the wrong bloody one! BlushAngry

I read this thinking "lovely warm rose?!" Instead I smell like any common room in any all girls school in 2017, that's all I'm saying...

I'm sure DH will be delighted to come home from work and help me shower because "I'm wearing the wrong perfume" Grin

I shall report later...Happy Sunday to all the correctly fragranced people Brew

positivepineapple · 18/02/2018 10:03

I'm caught up, don't want to flood the thread on sniffing day so will leave my thoughts on previous 3 until one day in the week.

I haven't read the notes as trying to learn so will wear all day then compare with my notes later. Please feel free to laugh if I'm a million miles off.

Floral Street

First sniff - Turkish delight - the real stuff, the powder coated jelly's in the fancy box - for some reason my memory bank is throwing The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe at me - I have zero idea of the relevance.

Calmwhoknows · 18/02/2018 10:21

Floral Street Chypre Sublime

Well, that’s certainly a full-on opening! Full, blowsy rose and patchouli. I can smell the geranium and incense if I concentrate, but only because I know from the notes they’re there.

Silverstreaks · 18/02/2018 10:35

Well that certainly wasn't what I was expecting. Having read Counts Chypre notes I thought this would be right up my street. Citrusy, woody, mossy etc. But no, it's like walking through a rose garden with rose geranium borders.
DH has questioned whether i should be wearing it and wouldn't it be put to better use as an air freshener?

explodingkittens · 18/02/2018 10:40

Disappointing. I love rose, and I love violets. I also love a good chypre. So this should be a no-brainer.

The rose and violets are easily discernable and actually rather lovely. But there's a nasty, bleachy note coming through above them, which means that I feel as if I've been presented with a lovely bouquet whilst in the changing rooms of a municipal swimming pool.

I'll let it settle a bit more but it's bordering on scrubber for me.

CountFosco · 18/02/2018 10:50

First sniff - Turkish delight - the real stuff, the powder coated jelly's in the fancy box - for some reason my memory bank is throwing The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe at me - I have zero idea of the relevance.

The White Witch gives Edmund Turkish Delight to enchant him.

OP posts:
positivepineapple · 18/02/2018 11:15

Thank you Count!

SoFancy · 18/02/2018 11:20

Morning all.
(I’ve gone back to my previous username and think I’ll stick with this one now for the perfume threads, to avoid confusion).

I’ve cheated a bit, as tried out Chypre Sublime on a couple of days last week (got a big family party today and wanted to wear something big and bold that I could apply once and would last all day - gone for Sofia by Sofia Vergara, which is a sillage beast...watch out fragile elderly rellies Grin.

The notes I made on Chypre Sublime:

First wear - really reminded me of Stella McCartney EDP. Rose and violet with an amber drydown. I really liked it (got a soft spot for Stella) but I couldn’t for the life of me work out why it has ‘chypre’ in the name. I don’t get citrus, labdanum, oak moss ...the notes I associate with that genre.

Second wear - it was quite different. I got more of patchouli and violet, less rose, something a bit dry and slightly smoky. I had to double check I was trying the same sample! Didn’t like it as much second time. Will try again this week and see what my final thoughts are.

Based on the first Sniff, though, I’d buy a FB. I’m a sucker for rose and violet combos.

MrsPestilence · 18/02/2018 11:29

This reminds me of something.
Jane Packer Red Roses, Black Violet and Cyclamen but take out the fizz and add in some Agent Provocateur. Not bad so far.

Then there is some more stuff in it. Usually this means a trip to the spice cupboard for reference. However, today I am thinking cleaning cupboard. Not so good.

I can taste perfume in my mouth and my horrid stringy left sinuses have been miraculously cleared. I'm not complaining about this, but find it an irregular side effect. Might have to wash off and try again later in the week. Will try for the dry down, I have to ignore JPG Ma Dame for the first 10 mins, this may be the same.

explodingkittens · 18/02/2018 12:15

So 90 mins later the nasty bleach (agree re: cleaning cupboard @MrsP) has gone and it's settled into a completely inoffensive, soft rosey violet. However, it's not a chypre, and it definitely ain't sublime.

It now reminds me of a linear rose like Paul Smith, but that may be because I've been wearing that this week too. That has more sillage though; this is virtually a skin scent already.

I'm happy to admit to being a bit hasty in calling it a potential scrubber but it's not rocking my world. May respray in a bit and see if that nasty bleach top note was an anomaly...

CountFosco · 18/02/2018 12:20

Instead I smell like any common room in any all girls school in 2017, that's all I'm saying...

If you are wearing what I think you're wearing then I found that preferable to this. This one is a scrubber on me, I've worn it twice and found the rose overwhelming. If anyone likes it give me a shout because I have two samples of it.

Silverstreaks All the other chypre perfumes I've had samples of smell nothing like this! I wore Fleur de Sel yesterday which is described as a modern chypre and it was all herby and austere and I really liked it.

OP posts:
CheapTarnishedGlitter · 18/02/2018 13:10

I'm in the not what I expected camp too. Didn't read the card and was so shocked by the huge rose blast. Not a natural rose fan so a bit disappointed... After an hour or so found the sillage quite good but if I sniffed wrist I did get something a bit more interesting and complex than just rose. I liked how it smelt when I popped outside to do the recycling bit then cleaned the bathroom and couldn't get past the smell of Method!!

Have cleaned up and resprayed and will head out for a long walk soon. Let's see how it develops...

MrsGruber · 18/02/2018 13:11

I'm warming to this in comparison to previous weeks choices. A dark red rose with lots of green foliage? The opening is quite raspy (think it might be the buzzy geranium bangining into the green aspects of violet that produces cleaning product associations?). Once that calms down I like the dark rose heart and I like the sense of green. The patch and amber notes, including the labdanum, are quite dialled down aren't they? Struggling to smell very much at all by 4 hours in.

Yes Pest - although RRBV&C is a bit darker and spicier? Have also compared with La Rose (Lyn Harris for M&S). Very similar vibe - rose and galbanum (rather than geranium) over patchouli and amber base. La Rose is the more beautiful and the more interesting for my money - more of a balsamic floriental? (It's a great rose - what were M&S thinking when they ended that collaboration...?).

Also re-sniffed Rose in Wonderland (Atkinsons) - rose, geranium and amber - this is a much lighter green, walk in a rose garden, sort of rose. Pleasant and simple.

ItWillAllBeOkayInTheEnd · 18/02/2018 13:18

I can only smell roses, but I don't have a full sense of smell, again! Perhaps we should redo this after the cough & cold season has finished! I think it's too floral for me, bit old-ladyish. I'll try again when I can smell properly!

Buntyforgirls · 18/02/2018 13:30

All I got was lots of rose - also reminds me of Paul Smith. Can smell the geranium now that I know that its in there. Rose and geranium- nah , not a fan. Not what I was expecting.

MrsPestilence · 18/02/2018 13:38

It is a good perfume for gardening Grin. Have pruned back the roses and am now having a coffee whilst contemplating the fig tree (reckon a third is gonna go).

Will compare to JhaG Mad Madame (another rose chypre) later.

Agree ItWill everything will smell better when the cold season is over.

explodingkittens · 18/02/2018 13:39

Three hours in and it's disappeared. All in all, it's a no from me.

MrsGruber · 18/02/2018 13:49

Have just had a quick sniff of Mad Madame - more about the berries and the cold metallic note? Haven't got Lady Vengeance to hand, but that's a rose/patch chypre too?

Silverstreaks · 18/02/2018 13:55

Scrubber?
A couple of PP have mentioned this. Does this mean you feel the need to scrub/wash it off?

explodingkittens · 18/02/2018 13:57

Oh. now that's really odd - I've literally just scrubbed and replaced with Mad Madame Shock!

For me there's no similarity at all, but I'm new to MM too so might need a bit more time with it.

MM is certainly a more recognisable chypre so far, and I find it a more interesting, less linear scent. The jasmine and freesia come through pretty strongly, neither of which I'm crazy about, but I definitely prefer it to the FS.

Calmwhoknows · 18/02/2018 14:23

It dried down to a soft rose and violet, with wafts of patchouli, just over an hour in. It’s still there as a skin scent 4-5 hrs later. I’ve tested some of my other rose fragrances on tester strips, as I’m sure I’ve come across that rose/violet note before. The only ones that are anywhere near it are Kenzo Flower and 4160Tuesdays Ealing Green. But Flower is more violetty (and sweeter) and Ealing Green is herbier and way more interesting to my nose. (I really recommend EG if you haven’t already tried it.)

However, I felt this was an attractive, interesting perfume with a good price point. I wouldn’t buy it because of the patchouli thing (my skin seems to amp it up), but I would certainly like to look at the rest of their range and will probably get a discovery set.

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