Tuesday, December 31, 2013

End of the Year

So it's the end of the year and I haven't accomplished much of anything perfume wise. The beginning of the year was back ups, Amouage then it did become the vow of finishing the smaller decants. But slowly but surely, the pile is getting smaller.

This year has been marked with some 'short' trips. Well, they aren't completely short trips but more of very long car rides to Virginia. But I have noticed a couple things when I go on any kind of trip. That I really over pack on the perfume. I had left for Virginia the day after Christmas and just came home and had packed 6 bottles of perfume and 7 large decants for 5 days. I'm not one of those people that wears multiple perfumes on any given day. I think from here on out, when traveling, I will carry no. 5 and one or two decants. Reason being is that every time that I do travel, I wear no.5 the most and probably because it is so versatile and some how comforting. But this time, I somehow managed to always be on the go and developed bronchitis and perfume was kind of out of the running except a little bit of Jicky in the morning. Even in the EDP version of Jicky, I don't find it to be long lasting and it sucks because it is a classic and smells phenomenal.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Evaporation

Did you ever get a bottle of perfume a few months back and have found that it seems to be evaporating fairly quickly? I'm not talking the parfum bottles that seem to evaporate fairly quickly without using them often.

Back in mid-April, I had purchased Andy Tauer's L'Air du Desert Marocain and have worn it 6 or 7 times, one squirt every time and it seems like it's evaporating. I've had Une Rose Vermeille much longer and have used it more and still looks pretty full. I'm thinking with the bottle design itself and maybe the materials used that contributes to that issue. I'm looking at the rubber ring at the base of the sprayer that might be part of the issue and at the very outside the wooden cap that could account for some of it.

Thus far, from what I've tried from Andy Tauer, his perfumes are well made and enjoyable, even though I'm still not wild about URV. The reason that I'm still not wild about URV is the huge raspberry Jolly Rancher component to it. Fruit in perfume is kind of sketchy because just about every current perfume (celebrity or not) is more often than not, loaded with fruit. But URV is a better quality fruity floral perfume. But I have noticed that Andy Tauer's offerings to have the tendency to fall off my radar.

But I'm trying to figure out the best way to deal with the evaporation issue. I get the fact that every time the cap comes off, I do lose a little bit of perfume before I decide to spray or not. But it is aggravating when most of my perfume collection in niche and niche can be expensive.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

When It Rain, It Pours

Right now, I'm coming up to some serious oral surgery that will be happening tomorrow and I'm nervous as all get out. I don't even think that I will be even wearing perfume tomorrow. Doctors and banks really rile me to no end. Most doctors won't let you do any kind of payment plan. Look, if you won't take my credit card, maybe you should consider a payment plan. Then, I had to call the bank that has my savings and they are sending me paperwork to give me my money because I hadn't been dumping money or really checking that account. That savings account is something I don't touch or maybe look at once a year. If it's not in my checking account, I don't spend it.

In the perfume world, those who love Chanel no 5 seem to prefer it in EDT or parfum strength. The EDP version may have been described as having an '80's vibe to it in Turin and Sanchez's The Guide but I beg to differ. The original Coco (not Coco Noir) has an '80's vibe to it, so does CK Obsession or Opium but not the EDP version of no 5. But the EDP version of no 5 is the first version of no 5 that I fell in love with and I must be a freak.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Fendi Theorema Review

Fendi's Theorema has been sitting in my unreviewed bag or perfumes for at least a year. I have been wearing it off and on for the past year and still don't know if I truly like it or not. It's one of those oddball perfumes and one that is sadly discontinued.

When I first apply Theorema, I get a whopping does of candied oranges and all kinds of spices. I see that jasmine and rose and a few other flowers are listed in there but I don't get flowers at all in Theorema. Normally, I'm not wild about citrus in my perfume but Theorema is an exception to this. The reason why is that the orange is juicy but in the process of becoming either candied or is being dried out. But well into the dry down, there is a vague sour/bitter element that peeks out that I cannot place. It's not like sour sweat but still kind of jarring. I keep debating on if I should just full the trigger and get myself a bottle or not.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Tocca Florence Review

Ever since Bath and Body Works discontinued Gardenia Lily, I have been kind of looking for a replacement for it. It can be difficult to find a gardenia perfume because the tuberose aspect kind of dominates the whole gardenia aspect. More often than not, I don't much care for tuberose because tuberose is overwhelming to my nose. Hence, why I have a hard time with Fracas and Carnal Flower.

Then I came across my Tocca Florence mini. Let's just say that Florence comes pretty close to Gardenia Lilly. But I've noticed that there is a fair amount of tuberose after the top notes have calmed down. It seems as soon as I really start to enjoy Florence, it's poof! gone. That seems to be my biggest complaint with Florence and the Tocca line, there is no longevity. It's always the 3 hours max of skin time before it flees. The bottles are really cute but I really can't see myself really really getting the more of the Tocca line for the bad lasting power and they are kind of boring.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Tauer L'Air Du Desert Marocain Review

It's fall in Cleveland and it's the time for clambakes, apple and pumpkin foods. Clambakes in rural areas always seem to involve bonfires. And I always look to see what really compliments the dry weather and bonfires. For a long while, Chanel Sycomore always seemed to fit the bill or sometimes Mitsouko. But Andy Tauer's L'Air Du Desert Marocain really fits the bill for a lot of situations that has a roaring bonfire or a barbeque.

The full bottle Tauers that I own (3) always seem to get lost in my shuffle of Chanels, Guerlains and Amouages. I don't know why or how but they do. Probably because they can be so hard to match with events or the seasons can't cooperate to wear them, so I forget about them. But yesterday seemed to be a day for L'Air Du Desert Marocain.

L'Air starts off by being almost bone dry. I keep thinking that there is lavender in there but according to Luckyscent, there is no lavender in there. Bone dry isn't bad when it smells good, as L'Air smells good being almost bone dry. I really do enjoy L'Air and glad that I got a full bottle unsniffed.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Narciso Rodriguez For Her

Did you ever get to the point of sniffage were it's either you get to wearing maybe the same 14-20 perfumes and neglect anything new? Then it hits you after blogging about random, somewhat uninteresting things that at one point or another, you've already blogged about. Sniffing a new perfume was in order.

For three days, I've been wearing Narciso Rodriguez for Her trying to figure it out. I get lots of patchouli in the beginning and not much else, then the musk comes through. Somewhere, something else peeks through a little bit. Flowers? Fruit? I can't be sure but all I know is that I'm not liking this perfume as a whole. Patchouli is one of those notes that I am ambivalent about just like musk when they are dominant notes. It depends on how they are presented, I think.

What bugs me about this whole thing is that it seems to follow the your skin but better idea. That idea doesn't suit me because I like my perfume to smell like perfume, not the your skin bit better. And I like my musk to lend a sensual hand or somewhat of a slutty hand to perfume. Lasting power is decent and wears close to the skin. But it just seems to sit on skin with no further development after the first 20 minutes. I own perfumes that evolve over the course of a half a wearing. Hopefully, perfume will come away from the clean musk, your skin but better, fruity garbage that permeates the market right now.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Now I Know Why

It's been a slow and agonizing process of using up my smaller decants (thanks Surrender to Chance for those flash sales). But it can be a great thing too. I've had a chance to truly know if I still like, love or hate a perfume. I'm still hoarding my vintage Mitsouko, Deneuve and Jicky though. This time, I've landed on Guerlain L'Heure Bleue.

The first few times that I did try it after I reviewed it, that it was just the wrong me that day. Nope, I'm having a hard time getting past the composition as a whole. I want to like it but I can't get past the association of after visiting the dentist. Every time that I wear L'Heure Bleue, I get those phantom sensations of Novocaine wearing off. For me, this does suck because I love most classic perfumes and never had one that I associated so strongly with something that is just so horrible for me. I'm not sure if I should just toss what is left of my decant or wait a few more years to see if my opinion has changed.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Packaging and Bottle Design

Every so often, I get really get annoyed with a box that any new perfume and the bottle design. It's always a joy when I buy a full bottle of perfume, even if it is a backup bottle. But the packaging that holds the perfume itself is irritating. What has gotten me annoyed with this stuff is I got my back up bottle of Nasomatto Nuda.

I am not talking about when the package itself arrives at my doorstep. Getting my perfume, unbroken, is important. Everything (the USP box and peanuts) except my invoice and perfume gets thrown out. I've always liked how Chanel and Serge Lutens (export line) look and loved the packaging because it is minimal. The bottles are plain, the packaging is plain. All in the idea of that the perfume should not be judged by the packaging but in the perfume itself. Sometimes, less is more.

The whole Nasomatto line has gotten me a little riled. The glass that actually holds the perfume is just fine but the cap is just horrid. I mean, really? A round, wooden cap. The cap is huge and just doesn't fit. The skanky tuberose/jasmine perfume is great but the cap could have been thought out a little better. Too much bulk and it just looks bad because of the proportions.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Deneuve EDT Review

I'm sitting in front of my computer screen without a clear idea of what or why I am blogging for today. After a short road trip, I have forgotten all of my potential ideas and posts but then remembered the Deneuve EDT sitting on my dresser. I don't care if I am reviewing a perfume that I have already reviewed but I am. There are perfumes (Chanel no 5) out there that smell a little differently depending on the concentration and the variations deserve a review in their own right.

Deneuve was and is one of the first vintage/discontinued scents that just blew me away upon first application. I was first introduced to Deneuve by reading about it on perfume blogs and people saying that it was a real pity that it was discontinued. I hopped on over to the Perfumed Court and found that there was an offering of 8ml of the extract version that was a really good price considering what people were offering on Ebay for the same 8ml. The extract version just blew me away.

The EDT version smells almost exactly like the extract version but seems to be a little rosier than the extract version. The lasting power is surprisingly good for an EDT. Yes, I am still mostly hoarding my Deneuve because if it ever is going to come back, it probably won't smell the same.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Traveling and Stress

Traveling is always stressful to me. It's the packing and getting there that I find to be stressful. I don't care if I am going to be gone 3 or 4 days at most, I hate packing. Trying to figure out what I will wear for 3 or 4 days in advance. Right now, no 5 is not so much of a prima donna right now but really wants to go to Virginia with me. Mitsouko, Deneuve and Epic are asking to come along too.

I keep asking myself, should I take one perfume or two? Should I take anything expensive or vintage? Should I take decants or full bottles? At this point, it's pretty funny, I've already picked out just about everything clothes wise but cannot for the life of me figure out the perfume. Perfume is the ultimate accessory and sticks around for quite a while. I have decided that a lot of my 'strange' and niche perfumes are staying home. Yes, MKK, Arabie and a few others are staying home. I'm thinking of sticking a few random decants in my purse would be beneficial.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Yes, I Have Enough but...

The conversation of having enough perfume has come up for the 50 millionth time in my household today. It is always when I am either searching Ebay, ordering from Surrender to Chance or Ebay that this conversation happens. The logical part of me says yes, I have more than I could ever use in a lifetime. Illogical says no.

If I had just a bottle of Mitsouko, Lyric and no 5 and stuck to those, things would be fine. Fine as in there wouldn't be so many cardboard boxes lying around. We do ship a lot of things to my sister, so they come in handy. I think that it has to do with slowly but surely trying to get my hands on vintage perfumes. Mitsouko has always been an example of a hard to love for me. It did take me a while to fall in love with the current version of Mitsouko and it was hard for me to love the vintage version. Now I know why it was hard for me, even though I was fascinated by her. It was the peach note that tripped up my beginner's nose but it was the chypre structure that I loved. But it is impossible to find a really old bottle of Mitsouko that isn't a fortune. But no 5 on the other hand, is pretty easy to find and for some reasonable prices. I had to get 2 bottles of the cologne to compare. The first bottle that I had gotten, the edges are rounded making it look a lot more square. I'm thinking that this one wasn't kept in a cool place or just plain didn't hold up because toward the end, it smelled like no 5 but mostly of
nail polish remover. The other bottle smelled better after 20 minutes of the nail polish note.

After poking around Ebay, I found myself a vintage no 5 in extract form that was a decent price. I'm sorry if I'm not exactly willing to spend $100 or more for a half used 1 ounce bottle of extract. Yes, I am cheap when it comes to something used.  One of the offerings was scary though. It was mostly full but the color was pale for a vintage and it was noted that there was some kind of sediment at the bottom but when you shook it up, you couldn't see it. I saw the picture after shaking it and the juice looked cloudy. That make me wary to get it.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

It Won't Leave Me Alone

Did ya ever have a perfume or a couple that won't leave you alone? Well, for a while, I really didn't have any perfume that commanded my attention for days at a time. I am not talking my full bottle wish list, it's the stuff that I already own. For the longest while, Mitsouko and Amouage Lyric did command my attention and wore them for days on end. Now, Chanel no 5 is monopolizing my time.

She won't leave me alone. I've been wearing no. 5 for about 2 weeks with maybe 3 days where I wore something else. It's not just one form of no. 5 it is just about every version that I own. I haven't started wearing my vintage EDC (found it really dirt cheap). I'm still looking at a vintage version of the extract but I can't be sure with some of these bottle offerings.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Guerlain Jicky Vintage EDT

Back in the beginning of my perfume journey, I did order Jicky from the Perfumed Court and promptly tried it. It wasn't the vintage version nor the EDT version but the EDP version. Needless to say that, I wasn't impressed. It had a floor wax type of texture with a huge dollop of lavender and citrus. Fast forward a few years and trying Jicky in EDT version, I can say that I do love Jicky now. Even though the EDT version lacks something, the vintage version does not. I'm still not really thrilled with Jicky in EDT form.

The vintage Jicky EDT is a whole lot more animalic than the current EDT but still as effervescent as ever. But the vintage version leans more to the EDP version (pretty much impossible to find) which is keeping me from outright disliking it for not good reason. I'm not sure that I would seek the vintage version out.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Wait a Minute, Thought You Couldn't Get This One

Apparently, Worth Courtesan has landed in the US. Every time that I have looked for it on Amazon or any other online place, it was labled out of stock or some such thing. Well, Ebay was the only place that I could find it and me getting stuff there is a very recent thing. I knew for the longest while, Courtesan was sold only in Europe. Even though I have a bottle, I want a backup and don't really want to go to Ebay for another bottle. Ebay is still scarey for me. I'm wondering on how the hell did I miss this fact that I now can find Courtesan here in the US and Amazon has it for a reasonable price.

Even though there are a lot of people who won't use Amazon for getting perfume, I'm less adverse to it. Yes, I get my Chanels from the Chanel website or the Chanel counter at the mall because the 3rd party sellers want a fortune ($100 or better) for a 1.2 ounce of no. 5. But I will use the 3rd party for my Amouages because I've had nothing but great experiences with Lady Ruth Perfumes. But normally, when I do get perfume from Amazon, they are pretty reasonable and sometimes you can get a bargain. I did manage to get a bottle of 1.7 ounce of Joy in EDP form for about $$60 instead of the usual $80 or more.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Chanel no 19 Parfum Review

For a very long while, the extract version of 19 has been sitting on my dresser, unopened since the day I got it last year. I normally don't go an buy the parfum version of any perfume unless it is love. What stops me more often than not, is the cost of parfum that scares me. Over a $100 for maybe a quarter ounce? Please, I like a little more bang for my buck, hence why I usually go for an EDP version of any perfume.

Even online, Chanel doesn't seem to offer much in the way of sizes when it comes to the sizes of the parfum versions of it's perfumes. With the exception of no. 5, Coco, the Les Exclusifs line, no. 19, and a couple others, it is the one size fits all.

Often times, I have found myself absolutely hating the EDT version of Chanel no 19. I do love leather and having a strong liking for galbanum but I find no 19 EDT to be way too butch on me to be wearable. Also, it does turn to be like milk gone bad. The EDP version is what I like better because it's rosy without be loaded down in amber or musk.

After deciding to just open the parfum bottle, which is a real pain to do with a tiny bottle, just to get a whiff, I end up spilling a couple drops on my hand. Holy crap, this version of no 19 is stunning, There was the carroty hiss of iris for about 2 minutes then in mostly became no 19 in EDP form. I've never noticed iris in no 19 before but I think that after trying out Silver Iris Mist, I really became aware of iris. When I say that it is mostly like the EDP version, it is. No 19 does have some butchy aspects to it but it is not harsh and overbearing. I'm happy that I do have a tiny bottle even though I don't wear parfum that often, I use parfum for special occasions.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Remember When?

After a few people got sick and tired of finding decants laying around, there was a qstion of "Don't you have enough?" Isn't having 5 perfumes at most enough? Of course this is after my millionth bottle of No.5 says that it is shipped. My response is no. Perfume is a luxury that I chose to indulge in. People who blog about books, wine, cheese or whatever, it's not freakish or scary. But perfume is for some reason. Maybe it is the current recession, people wearing some weak fruity floral garbage.

I  still hold on to the belief that there is a point where there is too much in a collection to chose. Today is grey, wet and the rain is still falling. Amouage Gold and Dia are both crying for some attention. Is is going to be the civet monster Gold or the effervescent Dia? I'm still debating.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Andy Tauer Lonestar Memories

Yesterday was the first time that I can recall that I wore an unsniffed perfume to work. One of my rules is that I test perfume only when I know that I am not going anywhere. But after wearing Noontide Petals and L'Air du Desert Marocain, I figured that it was a perfume by Andy Tauer and most likely wasn't gonna smell like pig poop.

I swear this smells almost like Bois 1920 Sushi Imperiale except with a little citrus thrown in. Yep, shaving cream. At first, I smelled nothing, absolutely nothing and felt a little cheated but then after a couple minutes, I got the shaving cream and hint of citrus. What did surprise me is that the lasting power. I did get a full 10 hours of wear for an EDT instead of the usual 3 or 4 hours.

Monday, July 22, 2013

All Over the Place

For the past few months, I have found myself wrapped up in all sorts of drama that leaves me not wanting to try anything new and found myself wearing the same few scents on top of it. Or the it's so damned hot out, why would I really want to.

I've sort of made a resolution to finish some of my smaller (3ml or less) decants of perfume to make some kind of room in that makeup bag overflowing with decants. It is somewhat working because I've actually managed to finish 10 small decants but had to throw out 6 because of evaporation issues. That's alright though, the evaporated ones were ones that I didn't care for much or hated. It seems like every time that I finish a couple decants, Surrender to Chance has one of those really good sales of take 15% off your order and it's the here we go again, getting a bigger pile of decants. It's funny how I can make a half hearted resolution and mostly stick to it.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Hoardin Vintage and Hard to Find

I have found myself hoarding some of my perfumes. Hoarding in the hoarding the 3ml decant of vintage Mitsouko EDT and the 8ml of vintage Chanel no. 22 and not wearing them a whole lot. Don't get me started on my 16 ml of Deneuve extract or the mostly full bottle of the EDT.

The reason of why I really do it is because vintage can be hard to find or out of reach price wise. When I find a bottle that is halfway full or mostly full for a reasonable price, I try and see if my budget allows for it. Thus far, no, but next couple weeks, I should be able to.

Ever since I have joined Ebay, I have found a reliable source for full bottles of Worth Courtesan but none for full bottles of Sarrasins. It kind of bothers me that something may be readily available in Europe but not in the US. I know for a split second Barney's had the bell jars but the prices were horrible. I would love it if the Serge Lutens non export line were available in the US. Say, 5 or 6 would be sold full bottle wise then back to the non export line then it would be the the next 5 or 6. Not everyone has the desire to fly to Europe nor the means. It would take me 6 more years to save up for a trip to Paris. I know there is Surrender to Chance and The Perfumed Court but certain decants cost quite a bit if a perfume is not available in the US.  Discontinued, I understand.

I do hoard my vintage collection most of the time is that there never seems to be a situation or good time to wear these. I'm not wearing vintage anything to work is I've dealt with too many nasty people and bad situations where it has ruined some of my perfume collection. Or it is a family situation that has utterly ruins a perfume for me. It's kind of funny how something like perfume can get ruined by something or someone.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Tablets and Cellphones

I absolutely hate it when that time of year rolls around. The dreaded contract renewal of cellphones. Before I had a family plan, it was an easy process of contract renewal. Now, when there are three people, everyone wants something different. One wants a plan with more minutes, a bigger cell screen or what have you. Since someone else makes those decisions, it still means that I have to do all the research. I can write down what exactly is needed and said person doesn't get it. How hard is it to upgrade or downgrade? I let the one who is in charge of the cellphone plan know that they are on thier own, if they can't figure it out or complain about prices, then the cellphones must go. I find that some people make it harder than need be for something so simple.

Tablets like the iPad can be the worst thing for when I can't sleep. I don't have an iPad but the Samsung tablet and love it. I've never bought into the Apple hype like many people have. I can see cellphone wise if carriers are offering the iPhone for free. A friend of mine has an iPhone and after looking and using it a little bit, I've come to the conclusion that the iPhone sucks. But for the past couple nights, I haven't been able to fall asleep and I've been watching YouTube videos and reading blogs until 3 in the morning. I am thinking of leaving my tablet downstairs so I am less inclined to use it at night.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Of Power Outages

This past week, has been nothing but thunderstorms, heat and intermittant loss of power. In my neck of the woods, it means no running water, no flushing toilets, and don't you dare open the fridge type of deals. Before I started wearing perfume, I didn't care too much. Now, it kind of matters in a way.The smell of body odor and perfume covering it up or the smell of stale perfume can be horrible, even if you don't leave the house.

Every time, there is a storm system that looks like it will pass through my area, it's the same routine, get every bucket that I own, fill it with water, just in case. I never know how long my power is going to go out, it could be 24 hours or 3 days. I always chose my perfumes very carefully. I figure if the power goes out and I have to go out in public, I am not going to smell of BO and stale perfume. So it's a quick bath. Usually, I tend to chose Mitsouko, Chanel no. 5 or no.22.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

If Something Where to Happen...

I adore online shopping for a lot of reasons but sometimes I do hate it. Having 3 Labrador Retrievers that eat twice a day, I go through a lot of dog food and a quality dog food can be expensive. My local pet store has raised their prices and at a recommendation of a vet, ordered their dog food online. It turns out that the dog food I got was recalled. I send the dog food back, and get an email saying that they are refunding my credit card, minus shipping. The refund has yet to show up on my credit card. Why is it that companies are quick to take your money but really slow on refunding it when you return something? I'm guessing that it was the weekend and I will give them a couple days and see if it shows up.

Bookstores are hard to come by when you live in a rural area. And rural libraries are not the greatest either. Rural bookstores and libraries are prone to carry whatever is on the bestseller list (aka whatever is really popular at the moment). The only bookstore that is halfway decent is an independant bookstore a half an hour away. I do love indepandant bookstores in small towns. Often, they are in the middle of town, in these small, century buildings. A few days ago, I was attending a free concert and took advantage of being able to walk around the square and remembered the bookstore. When we had a Borders that was 20 minutes away, it wasn't unusual for me to just drop $100 or more on books, this was a treat to me to wander around and actually get a book. I often don't limit myself to how many books or how much I can spend on books but with limited space and selection, I managed to walk out with only one book. And I had forgotten how it's highway robbery with hardcover books.

A couple friends of mine asked me that because they are marginally interested and mostly disgusted by my "perfume habit". If one likes collecting teapots and other little nick knacks and the other loves collecting old postcards, I will collect perfume. I've been asked that if something were to happen, what perfume(s) would I take. At first, I was a little confused because that could be a loaded question. If the house where on fire, if I remembered to grab my purse, it would be whatever decants and/or full bottles that are in there. If I have to move over seas and had to downsized, I'd take Mitsouko, Deneuve, Chanel no. 22 and Amouage Dia. The airline companies limit your liquids to 3 ounces and some of my favorites are 3.4 ounces. If I had to move 50 miles away, I'd probably take as many bottles as I could.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Trashy and Cheap, Versace Signature Review

Rooting through the medium sized box of perfumes that I've somewhat outgrown, I came across Versace Signature, and I was amazed when I spritzed it on me. I was amazed that I spent around $40 for something so trashy smelling. It smelled of cheap fruit and rotting flowers to my nose. Sometimes cheap and trashy in perfume can smell quite good and well made but this is something that smells like someone took a bad air freshener and combined it with fruit. This might smell good to someone who has never smelled anything besides Bath and Body Works or Victoria's Secret. Versace Signature seems to last forever and has an airy quality to it. But I am still wondering on why I bought it in the first place.

Trashy and cheap can be great when well done but not when it smells like this. Can a $200 bottle of perfume smell cheap and or trashy? Yes, but if you have the means to put quality ingredients in perfume by all means, do. Sometimes I wish that perfume companies would take the time to create a perfume and release one perfume every couple years instead of every 6 months.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Frederic Malle's En Passant Review

Did you have one of those times where you want to try something in your unsniffed and unreviewed pile that you hoped where it wouldn't be all that hard to figure out? I was there a couple days ago and I did grab En Passant.

En Passant has been floating around in perfume land since 2000 and I've been a perfume nut since 2007/2008. I am wondering on how En Passant kept falling off my radar. I think that I was wrapped up in smelling other things.

En Passant starts with a huge blast of lilac. I have to do a double take in the beginning because En Passant is very much like the lilac room spray that I had gotten at Bath and Body Works. But the lilac is not as harsh as the lilac room spray. After about 10 to 15 minutes later, the lilac calms down but the lilac is dominant from start to finish. There is a wheat note that I do smell an hour afterwards, I kind of like the wheat bit because it off sets the lilac a little bit and seems to give the whole perfume some kind of anchor. I did notice that En Passant does have a watery element but I think that it keeps the lilac from being overwhelming and the wheat from being yeasty. If you have ever smelled fresh baked bread with too much yeast or bread that spent too much time rising, it gets a really yeasty unappetizing sort of smell to it. I like En Passant very much but I would probably only be wearing my decant in the spring time so right now a full bottle is out.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Infusion d'Iris? Sexy?

It can always be fun to eavesdrop a little bit when there is a mention of a perfume that is mentioned. I had recently overheard to girls, probably no older than 22 or 23 yapping about how sexy Prada's Infusion d'Iris was. As soon as I was able to get home, I pulled out my full bottle of it and took a big sniff. Then wondered where they got the sexy part. I would call Bal a Versailles sexy or sensual or Mitsouko sexy but not Infusion d'Iris. I find Infusion d'Iris to be more like an ice sculpture. This is something that I mainly wear to work. It's the type of perfume that doesn't really project, and smells pretty. But I wouldn't say that it smells sexy. As much as I like Infusion d'Iris, it just kind of sits on my skin with little or no development. That is keeping me from loving it and wearing it more often.

I believe that these girls had said that Infusion d'Iris is sexy is because we are now in the age of fruity florals, aquatics, Bath and Body Works, and Victoria's Secret offerings and this is probably the most sophisticated scent that they have ever smelled. Thus far this is probably going to be the best thing that they will smell in the next few years, unless they fall in the rabbit hole. Or unless the mainstream perfume lines come out with something phenomenal.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Those That Don't Get Enough Love

Since I have been reading perfume blogs and reviews it hit me that there are a few perfumes in my collection that really don't get a whole lot of love. It is kind of funny though how we bloggers can keep raving about 3 perfumes from any given house and kind of ignore the rest of that perfume house's offerings.

One of those perfumes is Amouage's Dia for women. Dia is marketed as a lighter version of Amouage's Gold for women. I think Dia should be viewed as a perfume in it's own right. There are many things that make Gold and Dia similar but there is a world of difference between the two. Dia is effervescent especially in the beginning with the aldehydes then dries down to the jasmine/rose soap but still has a butt load of aldehydes. The aldehydes in Gold are more of on the oily side for me and dries down to flowers and civet. Gold and Dia are basically the same perfume and I love both enough to own a full bottle, but Dia really doesn't seem to get a whole lot of attention because it is "Gold Light" or "Diet Gold". I find myself in a lot of situations where Gold would be too much but Dia would fit the bill.

Amouage's Memoir for woman is another one that I think that doesn't get a whole lot of love while Lyric, Jubilation, Ubar, and Epic do get a lot of love. I did swoon over Lyric and do wear it often but I keep going back to Memoir and wonder why I am not wearing it as often as Lyric. It does seem for some odd reason that Lyric does get ignored. Maybe because it is on the sweet, almost gourmand like for a perfume. It could be that Memoir is one of those perfumes that is a modern chypre that not to many seem to be interested in or casual users of perfume don't care to decipher.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Nasomatto Nuda Review

I do have a tendency to love jasmine dominant perfumes. The more indolic, the better. Patou's Joy is a rose/jasmine dominant mix and not a true jasmine dominant.  I really liked A La Nuit and Jasmine Full, I swooned over Sarrasins and now I am really swooning over Nasomatto Nuda.

I've always debated on getting a full bottle of A La Nuit but always either decided against it or it got pushed to the side because something else captured my attention. But after the Perfume Posse's Guide of Jasmine perfumes, I was looking at a couple jasmine scents on Luckyscent. That is when I discovered that Nuda was being discontinued. Even though I never smelled Nuda before, I had gotten a bottle. Nothing like the finding out something is being discontinued to make me either buy or contemplate a stocking up. Even if it wasn't love right away, there would be a chance it could grow on me.

Nuda is very creamy and is a little strange for me. At first, Nuda is a loud jasmine that races off towards being with just plain indolic or very indolic but never crosses the line. I can't help but say, well aren't you going to be indolic or not? Nuda does mellow to where it isn't very loud but still loves to border on that edge of either sensual or just plain slut. I don't know if I like that or not. Either way, I am happy that I did manage to snag a bottle of Nuda before it was discontinued.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Wait, What?

Don't you just hate it when there are a few perfumes that are in your regular seasonal line up or year round line up that one day, you just can't stand? That happened to me yesterday for the first time in a long time. And it was Chanel no 19 in EDP form. I've always loved the bitter beginning that does mellow out a little bit and the rose is sharp. No 19 is one of my summer staples because it is not heavy and practically lasts all day on my skin. I am just wondering what happened as to why I can't stand it now. Is it because I was obsessive last summer and not so obsessive this year. It's one thing to lose interest in a perfume or try something new and find out that it bores, annoys or just isn't your thing. But to have an old favorite just suddenly annoy becomes hard to deal with. Not only is it hard to deal with is seems to come out of nowhere.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Chanel 28 La Pausa Review


Dealing with a sick relative is tough to deal with. After a while, it starts to mean that I am constantly wearing the same 3 or 4 perfumes. After spending the past month and a half of wearing no. 22, Mitsouko and Dia, I needed to try something new or just wear something that I haven't worn in a while.

I will admit that I am a fan of Chanel, but not a very rabid fan because I mainly prefer the Chanel classics. Since I am very slowly working my way through the Les Exclusifs line, 28 La Pausa is on my list. At first, I get a blast of iris. It's not the carroty, almost brutal blast that you get of Iris Silver Mist. The iris is a little carroty and the carroty aspect fades in a couple minutes. Then, it became apparent to me that 28 La Pausa smelled quite a bit like Chanel's Bel Respiro only with a pronounced iris note with anise. While I do like iris, anise does grate on my nerves because I am not a fan of smelling like I ate a bunch of black jelly beans. The lasting power of this perfume was a disappointment to me. Chanel perfumes in EDT form usually last me 5 or 6 hours before I have to reapply but 28 La Pausa is a different animal. I would have to apply every two hours. I would get a bottle for my mother since this would be more of to her liking but not mine.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Never Enough Space

It seems like I am currently running out of space for my perfume. My perfume has been competing for counter space on my dresser since I really started to get going on my Galileo thermometer collection (much cheaper than perfume I might add). It's not so much the thermometers as the fact that I have started to collect a lot of perfume minis. Sometime last summer, I had to throw out an old, crappy TV set that I kind of was using as my perfume storage place. I didn't quite realize that I did have some minis but ended up with more. I was thinking of putting up some shelves to contend with the space issue but I do have other projects that need to be taken care of.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Serge Lutens Silver Iris Mist Review

I keep meaning to write about Serge Lutens Silver Iris Mist but either get sidetracked or just not exactly motivated. But we have had a few warm, sunny spring days that brought out a little bit of motivation to review something.

I was a little hesitant on trying out Silver Iris Mist because Serge Lutens offerings can be either love or hate on my skin. After reading some reviews, I heard about it being carroty especially in the beginning. Upon first spray, it is very carroty and a little hissy. But after a while both of that calms down and Silver Iris Mist starts to smell a little like Prada's Infusion d'Iris. Even in the dry down stage of Silver Iris Mist, there still is a carroty element in there but it is not in your face. It's crisp in the way of a starched linen shirt kind of way. While I did enjoy Silver Iris Mist, I do see a large decant in my future but not a full bottle.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Cannot Wear

There are situations for perfume fanatics that we dread. One is going without perfume and the other is people who hate certain perfumes and it's really not a great idea to wear it. It could be a certain brand of perfumes, one or two certain perfumes or they plain don't like perfume.

A couple days ago, I found myself in such a situation where one person doesn't like anything "perfumey" and another doesn't like much of anything from Guerlain and hates Chanel. This did leave me in somewhat of a rock and a hard place because most of my collection is Guerlain, Chanel and "perfumey". I somewhat did want to keep the peace but I wasn't that motivated. Selfish of me, yes, but when you have some family that will try to control everything, I'm not exactly willing to bend. I ended up wearing a half a squirt of Amouage Dia. I figured by the time I would be around the people who pretty much eliminated just about all of my perfume collection, they would only be able to smell Dia if they were super close or pressing their noses to my wrists. And that half a squirt of Dia being worn for about 6 hours, I could barely smell it.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Patou Forever EDP for Her Review

The weather in northeastern Ohio has finally started to cooperate and it is really spring. The first of the spring flowers have started to come up, it's warmed up and it's gonna stay warm. Now I can start wearing lighter perfumes.

Since I am enthralled with Patou's Joy, I wanted to give another one of his creations a try. I don't mind it when perfumes are very "perfumey" and Forever is just that for about 15 minutes. After the first 15 minutes, it turns into something kind of sour. It's like when one is dealing with the dead bouquet of flowers that you just threw out and now gotta contend with the water. I'm thinking that the fruit is causing the whole sour, kind of rotten floral vibe. After I waited an hour, this really stayed close to the skin. But I couldn't make it past the first hour and had to wash it off. This perfume could have been much better if the fruit was used a little better or the combination was different.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Chanel Cristalle EDP review

Did you ever get some perfumes that smell almost identical to another perfume? Cristalle in EDP form smells almost exactly the same as Diorella. I'm not kidding. It's pretty much a copycat of Diorella. Just with more of an emphasis on the floral aspect. I'm in disbelief with it. I kind of do like Cristalle, it just doesn't suit me very well. I did notice that the citrus note wasn't as crisp in Cristalle as it seems to be in Diorella.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

L'Artisan Timbuktu EDT Review

I've found another decant in my non-reviewed pile that was nearly empty and is begging to be reviewed. I was going through a little bit of a phase with the L'Artisan line in early perfumista days. They smelling as many as I could reasonably afford. This was when I was transitioning between the blind full bottle buys and decants.

The decant of Timbuktu had only 3 sprites left and I gave it a go yesterday. During that time, I kept wondering and saying, "Where have I smelled this before? It smells like something that I already have a full bottle of." Then it hit me. I already own Chanel's Sycomore and Timbuktu is almost identical to Sycomore. Timbaktu is not as dry as Sycomore but still dry and best suited for fall. Timbaktu doesn't have the smoky quality that Sycomore has and I do find that Timbaktu is pretty nice. Lasting power for this is pretty decent, about 4 or 5 hours on skin. Since I have Sycomore, I don't see the need to have Timbaktu.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Dior Diorella EDT Review

Diorella is one of those perfumes that I am having a hell of a time describing for no apparent reason. Usually, I can describe most perfumes and my impressions but Diorella is different. I get a strong citrus note that gives the impression of sucking on lemons then the lemons seem to be half rotten. I don't much care for a dominant citrus note in any perfume. If citrus is blended in very well, then I don't much mind it but Diorella has a big citrus note that doesn't seem to be well blended into the rest of the perfume.

I do get a chypre vibe to Diorella but it's not enough for me to get past the marginal kind of like part. Citrus seems to override every aspect of the perfume and I just can't smell past the citrus.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

L'Artisan Mure et Musc Extreme Review

I keep meaning to post but either get sidetracked or don't have an idea. I'm at the point where I am more than satisfied with what I already have and a little bit afraid of trying anything new. There are people in my house that think that I already have too much perfume and threatening to sell some of it. But I have this pile of decants that are begging me to start sampling them.

L'Artisan Mure et Musc Extreme is kind of kicking it off. This one seems to be a little bit of an anomaly in the L'Artisan line because it is a EDP formulation and not the usual EDT formulation that I keep seeing. What does turn me mostly off from the L'Artisan line is the lack of lasting power and how the perfumes feel a little cheap. You can have the finest materials money can buy to work with and yet you don't capitalize on it. I don't know what kind of budget the perfumers at L'Artisan had but Mure et Musc smells cheap. It smells of those urinal fresheners packaged and marketed as perfume. All I get is berries and maybe a little bit of musk. While I do love Courtesan and have a liking for Une Rose Vermeille, I dislike Mure et Musc Extreme.

Can a cheap smelling perfume be fun and smell good? Yes but not when it smells like a bathroom freshener or the latest fruity perfume offering that was created by a 5 year old 10 minutes ago.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Parfums de Nicolai Le Temps D'Une Fete

I keep forgetting the difference between dabbing a perfume and spraying a perfume can give one a completely different impression. I was so enamored with Le Temps D'Une Fete when I drained my dabber and promptly ordered a large spray decant of it. It was the dead of summer and was wearing quite a bit of Chanel no 19 and was getting a little sick of it's bite. Dabbing Le Temps D'Une Fete and spraying Le Temps D'Une Fete creates two different animals. Dabbing gives me a basic, green maybe floral scent but I did love it. Spraying brought out more of a cut grass with a little hint of hyacinth and daffodil. I do love hyacinth when it is more of a dominant player in perfume. When I really started to enjoy this perfume it faded into nothing. My skin ate it because it is an EDT. Maybe slathering a really heavy moisturizer on and a long sleeved shirt will help with staying power.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Creed Fleurs de Gardenia Review

I've always been kind of a sucker for gardenia perfumes ever since I smelled Bath and Body Works Gardenia Lily. After really getting into the world of perfume, I always wondered why they didn't really smell like Gardenia Lily. Then after trying out Fracas, I knew why most gardenia perfumes didn't smell like Gardenia Lily. It's Bath and Body Works, not Chanel or Guerlain. Bath and Body Works has always been relatively inexpensive. And it's the tuberose that gets me every time. Even on the best of times, tuberose is overwhelming for me.

I had gotten a fairly large decant of Creed's Fleurs de Gardenia from Surrender to Chance. This is not the gardenia scent loaded down with tuberose that I pretty much have become accustomed to. It's not really a gardenia themed perfume. I get the watery bit like the Gardenia Lily but I get Vera Wang for her (or is it Sheer Veil?) mostly. Watery normally doesn't bother me too much when it isn't overwhelming and Fleurs de Gardenia isn't overwhelming in the watery bit. Fleurs de Gardenia really isn't about the gardenia. Yes, the gardenia part is somewhat prominent but mostly hides behind the other flowers and peeks out. Maybe in high school all the way up to 5 years ago, this would have been the 2 or 3 perfume bottles on my dresser and I would have loved it. In the 5 years of experimenting, I no longer really crave smelling like a straight up flower bed. I do like it because I'm not constantly slapped in the face with tuberose and it is pleasant enough. But it doesn't fit me like it would have 5 years ago.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Unfounded Fear

A strange thought struck me a couple days ago that as soon as I get a full bottle of something that has been on my to buy list, I really don't wear that perfume so much anymore. It was the draining decant after decant of Lyric, Courtesan and a couple others and then it was the full bottle buy and then, I might have worn it once or twice since getting the full bottle. I was scratching my head over that and then I knew that I did enjoy the thrill of the chase. Amouage scents in the grand scheme of the perfume world are pretty expensive. I can't exactly buy a bottle and not flinch every few days. Sometimes it is the saving up money and waiting for it to come in the mail that can be so much fun.

I've come to the conclusion that my fears of Ebay are unfounded. I've had two great experiences with it. Getting Worth Courtesan kind of took a while but I did receive it and it was the real deal. I'm happy with having my hands now on a full bottle of Deneuve, even though it's the EDT version.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Wow,

I will have to admit that I have fallen in love with Chanel no. 22 and figured after piddling around and trying to decide if a decant was sufficient enough, I ordered a bottle. What I didn't know is that if you order through the Chanel website, tax is charged now. Shopping online is where I mostly do get most of my perfume, books, half of my clothes and a few other things. Mainly due to not paying out the wazoo for tax. This must be a new thing for Chanel.

About 10 days ago, I had tracked down a bottle of Worth Courtesan and had bought a bottle on Ebay. I had gotten a confirmation that it had shipped, but over the past couple days, I have noticed that the shipping label has stated that the electronic shipping info has been received and that was on the sixth. I am wondering what happened because it is now the 12th. Every time that things have been shipped to my house by USPS, I've had tracking numbers that didn't take this long to update. I'm starting to get a little annoyed right now. I'm giving it until tomorrow and then I am going to do something about it.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Ebay

After flirting with idea of Ebay for years, I've finally signed up for an account. Ebay has always scared me because I have always been afraid of being scammed. And sometimes the cost of things. What finally made me take that plunge was trying to track down a few bottles of vintage perfumes and maybe find a couple that are not sold full bottle wise in the US.

Thus far, I've made only one purchase (Worth Courtesan) and waiting for it to arrive. I have a large decant of Courtesan and a full bottle of Courtesan was fairly inexpensive so most of this is hanging on how good my experience is going to be. I hope that it is good and I am going to get the real thing because I am eyeballing some vintage no. 19, no. 22, Deneuve and Mitsouko.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Parfumerie Generale Musc Maori EDP Review

I love, no, adore chocolate and I do have a liking for musk perfumes. When Surrender to Chance was having a pretty good deal, I have gotten a musk sampler set. After procrastinating on even beginning to test out this new sampler, this is the first that came to hand.

It's nothing but a Hershey's bar for skin and not in a good way. Chocolate is great for cooking and eating but not for perfume. Even after 5 hours of wear, I can smell chocolate and maybe a little musk. But after wearing this for 5 hours, this is petering out into almost nothing. This really isn't my deal at all. It's alright to get a vague impression of food in a perfume but not smell like a cheeseburger.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Feeling like a little bit of a freak

A couple years ago, I had downgraded from carrying a messenger bag/large purse due to the fact that I had started to accumulate too much stuff in there. I've lost count of how many times I had found broken decants,full bottles, and minis. Then I downgraded to a medium sized bag because one would think that I would get nervous with the sound of clinking glass coming from my purse. Turns out, I found Tocca Giulietta, a vintage no. 22 along with the current version of no. 22, and somehow, found my no. 19 extract unopened and in the box and wondered how it got there.

The reason that I feel like a freak is that I found a couple other things that I forgot that I had. I've mostly stopped wearing makeup because the only thing that take 30 seconds to apply is lipstick and once I decided on a perfume, it takes me a split second to apply it. I feel a little freakish because I cannot bear the thought of leaving the house, even to go to the grocery store, without perfume. I know that at the grocery store I shop at, there is a moderately large perfume counter. Not exactly what you would see at the mall, but for a grocery store, it's huge. Shalimar EDC, Estee Lauder Pleasures are just an example of what is sold. Yeah, they have testers but I'm not interested in trying out celebrity perfumes nor am I willing to test out Madonna's Truth or Dare. Tuberose and I don't exactly get along.

In the end, I do come down to the what if something happens to the house (fire, maybe)? Quite a bit of my collection is expensive and can be replaced but I still want to smell good.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Tommy Girl Review

A friend and I were talking today and she mentions that her hubby gotten her a bottle of Tommy Girl and it "smells so good" and not heavy or strange (she was talking about my perfumes). That reminded me that I had a decant of Tommy Girl sitting on my dresser at home (hey...it was dirt cheap).

Even though Tommy Girl was released in 1996, when I started high school, the hallways did not reek of Tommy Girl. They reeked of mainly of Clinique Happy and Bath and Body Works' Cucumber Melon. To a lesser degree, you could get a whiff of Estee Lauder Pleasures. Until about my junior or senior year, I wore all three of those scents. Then came my discovery of CK's Obsession. When I stumbled onto Obsession, I learned real quick that the tiniest bit goes a long way with Obsession.

It wasn't until I graduated from high school and went to school that was another perfume that was very popular with my age group. It was Tommy Girl. And since my friend said that it was her new signature scent, I took a closer look.

Tommy Girl is nice and not really what I would call a perfume. It smells a little like a perfume but it reminds me strongly of laundry detergent. I find that Tommy Girl is watery and I really dislike watery notes in perfume. Lasting power is about average with minimal projection. Not my deal.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

When Back Ups Attack.

Right now, I am sitting and gazing at my latest full bottle purchase while a family member is rolling their eyes at me. And it's Amouage Dia and the huge bottle. As much as I love Gold, I love Dia more and wear it more often, Last year was mostly marked by getting back up bottles or back up decants. This year is probably back to my 'normal' habit of trying new things. But still, I am gazing at my latest perfume purchase, blogging, thinking of all the back up bottles and decants that I already have and now onto trying new things.

The semi inadvertent Amouage full bottle bender has brought some more multiples into my house.I used to have 1 sample of Reflection, Memoir, and Interlude and now that's been doubled. But I did somewhat manage to score a sample of Interlude Man. Well, the multiples can be used for Valentine's Day and a birthday to stick on the cards or lose somewhere in the shuffle.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Good Lord...This Bottle is Huge!

For the past few years, I made it a rule of not buying the biggest bottle of any perfume. Buying the biggest bottle can be the economically sound thing to do if one is loyal to a couple of perfumes. But perfumistas are not loyal to one or two perfumes. We might have a small handful of perfumes that will always be in our collection.

I wrote about the mishap with getting a bottle of Amouage Lyric for women. Lyric had been on my full bottle list for about 3 years and decided the hell with it and ordered a bottle. After I was offered the 3.4 ounce because the 1.7 ounce was out of stock, I took Lady Ruth Perfumes up on getting the bigger bottle. My bottle of Lyric arrived yesterday and after unwrapping the package with glee, the size of the bottle stunned me after going who knows how long without getting the larger bottle. Chanel's Cuir de Russie, Sycomore don't really count. When I had gotten those, there was not the option on the getting the 2.5 ounce bottle. In the US, Chanel no. 19 in EDP form there isn't an option of getting a smaller the 3.4 ounces. So, I'm used to getting smaller bottles of perfume because I already have 20 some full bottles, 3 back up bottles and who knows how many decants. After my bottle of Amouage Gold for women arrives, I think that I am done with full bottles for a while.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Chanel Chance Review

I think the perfume gods are laughing at me along with torturing me. What I mean is that I am on pins and needles waiting for my bottle of Amouage Lyric for woman and during this time, testing Chanel's Chance.

After my panic about the possibility of Chanel no. 5 being reformulated or discontinued, I got around to trying the spray sample of Chance that they had sent me. Even though I knew I would regret this, I still tried Chance.

Boy, did I ever regret spraying Chance. I had gotten a huge blast of rancid citrus and laundry detergent. Laundry detergent is a perfume normally doesn't bother me unless it is up in your face like Chance is. To combine it with citrus is a mistake. Especially a citrus that smells like it had just gone bad and then to cover it all up, there is a butt load of flowers. Staying power is pretty good and what I expect out of Chanel. I wouldn't go out and buy myself a bottle or anyone else. If someone gave me a bottle, I would give it away because I detest it. I believe that Chance and all of it's spawns were created for those 16 to 20 year olds that want a Chanel that they mostly like and want to call their own.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

It's a New Year

It's a new year with the potential for many adventures or misadventures, especially when it comes to perfume. From a day or two before Thanksgiving until the day after Christmas, I usually do have a perfume misadventure. Sometimes it is me dropping a decant and breaking it or wearing something I like for a holiday and most everyone is making not always pleasant comments about.

This time, it's been a little over 2 years that I've had a full bottle misadventure. Shortly after Thanksgiving 2010, I ordered a full bottle of Frapin's 1270 and it had taken about a month for it to arrive at my doorstep. I initially thought that the Perfume Shoppe being located in Canada and it being around Thanksgiving here, it may take a little longer. About two weeks later, I received a phone call saying that there was a mix up. Eventually, it was worked out. On Christmas, Santa brought me a $100 Amazon gift card and I couldn't wait much longer. The day after Christmas, I took the plunge and used that $100 towards a full bottle of Amouage Lyric. What really pushed me was that the 3rd party seller (Lady Ruth Perfumes) was running a little bit of a sale on most of the Amouage line. I have ordered Amouage Memoir through Amazon from Lady Ruth Perfumes and had a great experience, so it I wasn't concerned about getting the wrong product or getting a fake product. Sometime on the 29th, I had gotten an email saying that Lyric had shipped but on the 31st, I had received a phone call. I was informed that they were out of the Lyric for women in the 1.7 ounce size but they were able to ship me a 3.4 ounce bottle for no additional cost. I was a little confused because I had the email from Amazon saying that it was shipped. I still don't know what to make of the whole situation even though I took up the offer of a larger bottle. I will wait for my package to show up before I make any final decision.