Someone’s hair drawer has the aroma of warm knickers on the chandelier - Lovely Friendly Perfume Thread 10

[MrsPestilence]

Welcome to the long running perfume thread. Discuss Scent of the Day, fave dupes and scents of ALL price brackets. You don’t have to spend a fortune and we will encourage you to get a sample first. That said, hiding your credit card in the freezer is recommended.

Old thread

We also have managed to get a 20% discount on a Perfume Society box and are discussing it on The Big Sniff.

SOTD is Byredo Gypsy Water. I woke up with a migraine so needed something light. Yesterday was Chanel 19 for work, then L’Air de Rien for Morrissey - whose strobe lighting probably triggered the migraine.

SotE is Sahara Noir, courtesy of the MrsG sample pack. To me, it's very similar to Amber Absolute, slightly more nuanced and easier to wear but they share a hell of a lot.

Maybe we are scent twins!

Sisters at the very minimum . Have just had a sniff of the TFs side by side. Both fabulous. SN seems hotter, drier and churchier (so in an odd way a bit more grave/austere?). AA smells rounder, richer and more luxurious.

Have you tried L'Occitane's Ambre? (Reissued in 2016). It's a great, straight-up, warming/comforting amber.

AA is the 1000 calorie version! The dry down is incredibly similar to SL AS too, more obnoxious though of course.

Never tried the L'Occitane, I do remember hearing the complains when it was discontinued though, didn't realised it was back. Ambre 114 is a nice comforter too.

Yes, love SL AS too...

Funnily enough though, having gone to great lengths to track down a bottle TF Youth Dew Amber Nude, I ended up selling it on on ebay. Thought it was going to be right up my street, but it was much less resinous and toothsome than the original.

Lovely to see all the perfume exchanges and interchanges on here - just goes to show how valuable this thread is to users. My samples are now in the post to all.

I’ve been busy testing samples from lovely perfumistas Kittens both Lab on fire perfumes were a hit with me. LA so interesting- coke and macaroons (yes, really) so weird on paper but it works on my skin and is just as lovely as the Paris one I wore the day before. I woke up this morning still smelling the powdery goodness. Yes it is me who’s addicted to creamy vanilla crumble (which I hated to start with ). The juxtaposition of vanilla and what I smell as smokey tar is just genius - its a perfect crossover between a gourmand and oriental but I wish longevity/ sillage was a bit stronger.

Teta your curated sample set arrived yesterday- thank you so much - what a haul! Just 4 Miller Harris’s winging their way to you, hope that’s ok. I wore Chanel Bois de Îles today. OMG. Immediate love and straight onto my FB wish list. It’s everything I thought No.5 was going to be (we don’t get on - possibly due to the civet and oakmoss, not sure). It’s got Chanel’s signature sparkling aldehydes, and a creamy, dreamy sandalwood drydown that is just divine. I can’t really pick anything else out beyond ‘flowers’ as it’s so well blended. It’s changed throughout the day, but still going strong 13 hours later. It is superb.

Janet thank you so much for the generous 4160s which arrived today- I like Says Alice and Fruits of tree of knowledge on first sniff, but haven’t been able to try on skin yet. But something strange is going on with the Sexiest Scent - it’s definitely What I did on my holidays- I have a FB, tested side by side and it smells pretty much the same, on opening and drydown (it’s a distinctive perfume so I’m 99.9% sure). How odd - do you think they mislabelled it? The good news is, you might actually like sexiest scent, as its completely different to WIDOMH! Happy to pass onto someone else as I have a FB already x

I love creamy vanilla crumble!
Got a stash rollerball on its way which I'm intrigued to smell

@MotherofTerriers loving the name btw! I will definitely look at those. Thank you. Had a bit of crappy few days so I will treat myself to a good browsing/research excessive spending spree tomorrow.

@Motoko I absolutely think I'm going to sign up to the VIP of the perfume society, I did have a quick look the other day but couldn't seem to find how to on the site.

I have a question for you all. My apologies if this seems naive.

How do you remember all these scents? Perfume houses and names Etc?

I can very easily recall perfumes of family member, predominant scents of good/bad memories. It's the reason I love perfume so much - but I think I would struggle to remember scents from a sample - only as I need to associate memories or feeling before it gets rooted in my brain. Is this something that comes with time?

Bluebell, that's so weird about the Sexiest Scent, they must've mislabelled it! I don't think I ever bothered to open it, it went straight into the storage drawer because I already had a FB. It's years old as you can tell from the chunky little sample bottle. I'm happy to send out something to replace it, not sure about your tastes so do point me in the right direction.

Oh no Janet absolutely no need to send something else- I just found it funny when I opened it and smelt the top notes of WIDOMH...which are unmistakable!

pineapple I have a perfume book (courtesy of TPS vip) but mainly I just sort of remember. I not that good at picking out notes (perhaps if I concentrate), but I reckon I could identify a couple of hundred perfumes now on a blind sniff. Some smell like each other though (think all the fruity florals popular right now) so it could be that we are focusing on those that are a bit more unique and easier to remember because they are distinctive. I just do it for fun though, and also it’s good to revisit perfumes you’ve not been wowed by- some are growers for sure.

That should be a Perfume note book where I write down thoughts (when I have time). I don’t own a perfume book (yet) but others on here rate Luca Turin’s books. Jo Fairley (TPS) has written one too but no idea how good it is.

SOTD is the PP Mossy Breches inspired by the references above but I am not getting it - on me its just a generic cologne. On a more positive note I am loving the PP version of JPG Scandal - a big blowsy honey bomb it's the best honey scent I've tried since the late lamented L'Occitaine range

Hoping dh gets out of bed today!
Sotd prob sexiest scent

That's an interesting question Pineapple. I guess its partly about classification? What fragrance family does this belong in and what are its defining qualities? Not necessarily figuring this out from scratch (although that's a really good thing to get in the habit of trying in order to develop your nose), but comparing your thoughts with other peoples views by reading reviews too.

That's an interesting question Pineapple. I guess its partly about classification? What fragrance family does this belong in and what are its defining qualities? Not necessarily figuring this out from scratch (although that's a really good thing to get in the habit of trying in order to develop your nose), but comparing your thoughts with other peoples views by reading reviews too.

pineapple, a bit anal I know, but I have a card index system. I use Fragrantica to write down the category and notes and the “score”. Then I write my impressions. It would be more logical to use a spreadsheet, but I quite like messing around with coloured card and pens, with samples and a cup of coffee/glass of wine on the settee. ☕️ It’s definitely a work-in-progress as I still have lots to do!

Ah! That's why Calm knows....

I stumbled on this training method yesterday explaning how a US niche retailer trains her staff so they can remember and talk knowledgeably about a lot of different perfume. Some of the presentation is tongue in cheek but it's quite interesting.

I've just posted on the Big Sniff, after sadly neglecting the fragrant threads I was very excited to wear SOTD and catch up, and I'm wearing the wrong bloody one Is it too early to say "fucks sake"?

I really really will read properly and go through and list my samples later ( again) but I just wanted to share my Sniff ineptitude, and say that I do have teeny funnels and bottles if anyone, maybe newbies or lurkers, would decants from any of the "mainstream" MN Perfume Thread Classics, things like Jade, Lovely, Truth or Dare etc...

Kittens glad they arrived safely!

Judy how was Mozzer?

I am definitely in the mood for Spring scents now! Roll on March...

Haha, it's never too early for a good old "fucks sake".

Trying out the Paul Smith Rose blind buy...yep, it's definitely rose. Not too sickly, not too sour - it's basic but decent.

Thank you for your replies, lots of ideas to get me started. I have the A-Z of perfumes as recommended by Gruber and it's really interesting and laugh out loud brutal at times.

Calm that idea is right up my street, I love stationary - who doesn't! And organising - but am I organised enough to keep it up is the question.

Bluebell that is impressive! How many frogs before a prince is found would you say?

Janet - I love PS Rose, I love Rose scents in general, I like that this one lets the Rose do the majority of the work and its there all the way through wearing.

'Hi, I hate perfume and, by extension, I hate you' . I like that training method @MrsG, although I think if I started actual picture flashcards DP would think I had finally lost the plot. I do have a perfume journal but I'm really terrible at keeping up with it.

@Calm, I tip my hat to you, though...

MrsG that was a very interesting read, and so good that the sales assistants are actually getting some knowledge about the perfumes they sell.

I don’t use the cards for all my perfumes, only for the ones that I really like, or are interesting, or that seem to morph. It’s nice to be able to add notes to the cards. For instance, I couldn’t get a handle on the distinctive note in Rome 1963, until I read a review mentioning hymn books. That was a ker-ching moment 💥 and I changed “woods” to “hymn books” on the card.

I think those of you who keep records should consider blogging...