Monday, May 30, 2011

Chanel no 19 Perfume Review

I made a blind buy of getting Chanel no. 19. When I got an e-mail from Chanel saying that they were selling the perfume version of no. 19 in the U.S., I made the impulse buy. For a good long while, no. 19 was only available in the US in eau de toilette.

It initially starts out as a sharp, green, rose then mellows out to a powdery rose. Chanel no. 19 is somewhat reserved though. I have a hard time finding a rose dominant perfume that I really do enjoy but I do enjoy Chanel's no. 19. My skin will turn a rose scent into something weird smelling, but not no. 19. When I wear no. 19, I feel confident. This type of perfume seems to give the impression of this woman is not afraid to let people know what she wants and expects. Chanel no. 19 wears pretty close to the skin but the longevity is about 10-12 hours or more on my skin, which I do enjoy. It seems to be a good year round scent.

Chanel no. 19 eau de perfum is sold through the Chanel website (I don't know about Chanel counters at department stores). Unfortunately, it is only sold as a 3.4 ounce bottle. That is my gripe due to the fact that I am usually after the smaller bottles not larger. Chanel no. 19 is a perfume that is going to stay in my perfume collection, granted that Chanel doesn't discontinue having the eau de parfum in it's regular lineup.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Frapin Esprit de Fleurs Review

After enjoying Frapin's 1270, I got a hankering to try another of Frapin's perfumes. I did accidentally purchase a full bottle of Esprit de Fleurs instead of a sample. I find it to be a pleasant enough perfume. I get a massive citrus blast when I first put Esprit de Fleurs on my skin then the citrus mellows and the woody part of the perfume comes into play. I do love vetiver and cedar in perfumes, but citrus and woods together? The jury is still out if I like the two together. It seems that one day I love them then the next, Esprit de Fleurs make me queasy. Citrus and I have a love/hate relationship. Thus far, I cannot see myself buying another bottle after I finish this bottle.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

My drive of less bottles

I've been revamping my collection of perfumes. I have thrown away 2 bottles of perfume that have gone bad and have given my mother 3 bottles that she keeps swiping from my dresser. I've gotten more selective of what I want full bottle wise of perfume. I used to be an impulse perfume buyer. Most of the time, I wouldn't have smelled a perfume first before buying it, now I do. That has led me into getting decants from the Perfumed Court. What is great about the Perfumed Court is that I can choose the size of the decant and if I want it in spray bottle form or roll on form. I usually go for a 2.5 ml in a spray bottle. A larger sample with a pump spray gives me a good idea of what a perfume smells like. The reason that I go for a larger sized decant is that it does last longer and it gives me a more time to think.

The reason why I want more time to think is "is this perfume worth the money?". With a lot of them, the answer is no. I might like the perfume but not enough to get a full bottle. There are a few that I do want to get a full bottle. I am trying to finish 2 bottles of perfume before I commit to any more new bottles.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Amouage Lyric for Women Review

After getting my decant of Amouage Lyric for women, I decided to take a look at it. It is supposed to be another take on rose. After 2 days of wear, it is not a rose dominant perfume. Another blogger (can't remember who at this time) said it was about romancing the rose. Which is true. I was kind of hard pressed to find the rose in Lyric. But the rose seems to be in the drydown but I am having a hard time picking it out. Lyric does give out some sillage but isn't annoying, Lyric isn't loud. I find it to be slightly earthy in a good way.

I wore out the sample that Luckyscent gave me during the winter and now have a decant. Is it bottle worthy for me? Yes! It is a great scent for winter but it really blooms in spring/summer when it is warm and slightly muggy out. It was slightly was sweet but Lyric didn't make me gag and want to run to the nearest sink to wash it off. A full bottle of Lyric for women would fit into my collection really well. Well, the red bottle is making me drool. Currently, I am saving my pennies to get a full bottle.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Sampler scents

I was poking around Sephora.com these past couple days for no good reason and they have sampler sets of perfume. They just seem to have a lot of sampler sets of everything. I've noticed that it is not the niche area of perfume that is offering too many of these. It is mostly designers like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, etc that are offering these. I find it cute, but leaves me wondering, what is going on with straight up free samples? It used to be that samples were given out freely. Now, the almighty dollar wins out. It seems like one must buy a certain dollar amount must be spent before you get any free samples or free shipping.

Sampler sets in perfume can be great if you are buying it for you. I don't find them to be great gifts for anyone. It makes one look lazy. How? It looks like one didn't want to put in the time, thought and effort into getting a gift.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Citrus note and writer's block

It looks like I am having issues with anything remotely citrus. Citrus is leaving me sightly nauseous. I don't know why citrus in perfume is bothering me so much. There are 2 perfumes in my collection that do have a noticeable citrus note in them and right now, I just am not able to wear them.

On top of the whole citrus making me a little sick, I have a case of writer's block. I have many perfumes that I would like to get reviewed but can't seem to get started on reviewing them. I am wondering if it is all the rainy weather that has come to my neck of the woods. Or it could be the working 6 days in a row and that is demotivating me. I am hoping in the next couple days to at least get 1 review done.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Tocca Giulietta Review

I can now believe that it is spring and it is time to start wearing spring/summer perfumes. It as nearly 70 degrees here and I went for Tocca's Giulietta perfume. It's a skin scent, so there isn't a whole lot of sillage going on. It's nice for a change of pace to have a skin scent. There is an extremely faint fruitiness that is only detected when first coming into contact with skin. The rest is the gentlest floral scent. I do find myself reapplying Giulietta every 5 hours since it does seem to disappear quite quickly for a perfume. The bottle itself is quite heavy and well built, so there is not much of a stand out to make me reach for it at least once a month. At the end of the day, Giulietta is an airy, inoffensive perfume. But it is one of the few airy, inoffensive perfume that I do really like. After I finish my bottle will I get another? Maybe, it might grow on me to the point of loving it.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Chanel Cuir de Russie eau de toilette

I have stated that I dislike eau de toilettes for the most part but there are a few that come my way that I do love. Chanel's Cuir de Russie is one that is bottle worthy in my opinion. I had orignally purchased this in 2007/2008 on a whim and it started me down the road of becoming a perfumista. When I first purchased Cuir de Russie, it only came in a huge 6.8 ounce bottle. Now there is a choice in size (6.8 ounce, 2.5 ounce) and you can get a half an ounce of the parfum (not eau de toilette or eau de parfum). I find it to be a perfect fall/winter scent because it is on the heavy side. I love the smokiness that I find when I wear it. I love it because it is very different from the fruity floral messes and celeb scents so many are wearing now. Cuir de Russie is more of a skin scent that people can only smell when they are close. Cuir de Russie does last for a good 8 hours on my skin without reapplying it. Chanel's Cuir de Russie may be the closest thing I have that may be a signature scent, but I have many perfumes and samples to keep me busy for a while.

Why I am not fond of eau de toilette

I am not fond of eau de toilette scents. My skin seems to eat them. I will spray on an eau de toilette, and poof, in two hours it's gone. No lingering scent. That is why I am not inclined to buy them. Some can get a eau de toilette to last on them all day, but not me. I think part of the reason is that I have dry skin and no matter what kind of moisturizer I use, it doesn't add to the longevity to eau de toilette. I have found with eau de toilette, there is no sillage and I do like silage. L'Artisian is one company that I will probably not be buying a lot from due to the fact that most of their scents are eau de toilette. I have a sample and bottle of Voleur de Roses (will be reviewed later) and it is eau de toilette that was given as a gift.