Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Perfume Accidents

I don't know how many people that own dogs that like to counter surf or animals that let themselves on counters, dressers, or nightstand. And I don't know how everyone stores their perfume hoard. But I know that I own two dogs that love to counter surf and that I store my perfume on my dresser. But even with the best storage system and even with no animals, perfume accidents can happen.

People, like me, who have large perfume collections can relate to spilled perfume. Let's think about it for a minute. I have perfume minis, vintage splash bottles and perfume in extrait form and that means that these don't have a sprayer, leaving them more prone to being spilled. I'm not talking that a little extra goes on your hand when you are applying perfume. I am talking that either the whole bottle gets emptied or most of the perfume gets spilled. It's annoying when it happens when that happens.

Last night, I was applying Cuir de Russie in extrait form as my bedtime scent. I hadn't worn it in quite some time and wanted to dab it on, not spray it on. The bottle slipped out of my hand and most of it went into the carpet. My bottle of Cuir de Russie in extrait form was a third gone but quite a bit had soaked into the carpet. I did manage to save 4 ml at best and I am pretty bummed out even though I still have that massive bottle of EDT that I don't seem to wear that often. This is the third time in recent memory that this has happened. First, I knocked over a bottle of vintage Mitsouko, spilling a third of it and then my dogs knocked over a bottle of vintage Bal and I lost 80% of the bottle. I hate losing perfume due to spills and most of my spills seem to be the vintage version.

Sunday, December 18, 2016

L'Artisan Fou d"Absinthe EDP Review

For the longest time, I have been mostly ignoring the whole L'Artisan line. The few that I did try early on I either didn't care for or I hated the fact that most of the line were EDT's. I'm not somebody who owns a lot of EDT's unless they are vintage. EDT's just don't last on my skin, I might get 2 or 3 hours worth of wear if I am lucky. The notable exception thus far has been Havana Vanille, which has sadly been discontinued. But every now and again I do buy sample sets from STC and there was an absinthe sampler set that had been sitting on my wish list for a while. While there was a pretty good sale, I had bought it. So last night and most of today, I have been wearing L'Artisan's Fou d'Absinthe.

While reading the history of absinthe, absinthe has gotten a really bad wrap and didn't deserve the ban that it did and it didn't deserve that long of a ban. Instead of blaming the people abusing alcohol, the temperance movement decided really go after the booze, especially absinthe. But nobody wants to hear a history lecture nor my views on booze.

While I was wearing this before bed, I was wondering where I had smelled this before. I did kind of remind me of Dior's Granville but Granville wasn't really hitting the mark. Then it hit me a two in the morning, it reminded me of the liquid Dial soap. The regular gold colored liquid Dial soap. I couldn't believe it, I really couldn't. But the more that I had wore it, the more that it became the Granville/Dial soap kind of thing. I definitely get the green and absolutely get the pine and fir basalm that gives that Granville feeling to my nose. I keep looking around and others are saying that it is a masculine perfume, I do have to disagree a little bit there. There is a sweetness in d'Absinthe that begs to differ. That sweetness keeps d'Absinthe from being a total masculine perfume. I just can't place the sweetness and what note is doing that but it is there. I would peg this as more of the masculine side of unisex. I find that this would be great for a summer scent but not exactly a winter scent unless I were by a roaring fire in a fireplace.

I am debating if this is worth the price of a full bottle for me since I have Granville on my list for a pine needle note that doesn't go into the Pine-Sol or car air freshener territory . But this is a definite large decant worthy perfume for me. Let's hope that L'Artisan keeps up with the making more things in EDP form because this lasted six hours on my skin.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Compliments and Perfume

I'm sitting at home looking outside and waiting for the snow to hit. Since I live in the snow belt in Ohio, we are expecting around 5 inches of snow. All the weather channels seem to be debating on when all this snow is truly going to hit. One says Thursday, another says Friday, and the last one says Saturday. So I don't really know at this point.

It's rare that I ever receive compliment of wearing perfume but I do get them once in a while. Let's think about it, perfume wearing seems to be the new smoking. It really must be due to the fact that you get many people from all walks of life and all ages that wear way too much perfume. It's beyond way too much perfume in ways because people seem to bathe in them and one of the keys to perfume is restraint. I do have some strong perfumes and some that are bombastic and even my lightest ones, I make every effort to apply lightly.

But I do receive compliments when wearing perfume. It always takes me by surprise when I do get a compliment on my perfume wearing because most people I know just tolerate it. Or if they do like something, they keep it to themselves and they don't even ask. They probably figure that a lot of my perfumes are very expensive and a large amount are expensive. When you consider the price of certain brands (Amouage, Xerjoff) and discontinued or vintage perfumes, it can get pricey fast. The perfumes that I receive the most compliments are with some of the stranger perfumes in my collection. Here is the list of the ones that garner me the most compliments.

1. Mitsouko seems to garner the most compliments with people who are in their late 50's and 60's and it doesn't matter if it is the current version or the vintage version. Mitsouko is one of the oddballs in my collection that seem to baffle a lot of people and it's kind of the gold standard of chypres.

2. Serge Lutens Feminite du Bois is probably my first niche purchase that I don't seem to wear often enough and when I wear it, men always ask what I am wearing. FdB smells wonderful but different enough to get yourself noticed.

3. Amouage Memoir for Women. This one definitely gets a lot of attention from both sexes and all ages. I don't know what attracts people to me when I wear it but I probably wear it so well that it does

4. Andy Tauer Une Rose Vermielle. Probably one of the most approachable Tauer's that does get a lot of love. It is part of the fruity floral theme and probably one of the best of the genre. UNR doesn't smell cheap and it doesn't smell horribly expensive.

5. Guerlain Shalimar. Shalimar is probably one of Guerlain's most approachable classics and it's the gold standard of orientals. It's slutty enough to keep me happy and it is safe enough to wear in public and not scare anyone away.

6. Amouage Epic. The spicy rose that sports some gaic wood and oud. I can never quite pin point why I love Epic so and the compliments that go with it. But the Turandot  reference intrigued me in the beginning to give this a try.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Guerlain Nahema EDP Review

A while back, I did review Guerlain's Nahema and really enjoyed it. But what I reviewed was the vintage PdT. The only time that I see a perfume in a PdT form if it is in vintage form and nobody does a perfume in PdT today. Ever since the 80's when companies were launching perfumes in the new at the time, EDP version, the PdT's were discontinued.

Months ago, I had revisited the PdT version of Nahema and instead of just really enjoying it, I fell in love. In a moment of impulse, I bought a bottle of the current EDP version. I always like to review vintage versions and current versions of perfume separately. I like to do it because they might be somewhat different or massively different.

Is the current version of Nahema different than the vintage PdT that I have? Yes and no. The vintage version was more about the imaginary plush, jammy rose and the current version is more about the green hyacinth and a little less on the rose. The rose is still a dominant player but it's not as huge as the PdT. I do love green perfumes are there are many out there but there are not too many that include hyacinth. I love hyacinth in my garden, in the grocery store when they sell them as potted plants in the spring, and when they are either a star player in perfume or as a major supporting character in perfume. I can't fathom why perfumers don't use this more often in perfume. When they seem to, hyacinth is pushed way back or it's trampled by everything else. What I have noticed is that the current EDP is a little thinner than the vintage PdT. I still find the current version of the EDP very enjoyable and I do think that Nahema will have a permanent place somewhere in my collection.

Monday, November 14, 2016

Frapin 1697 Revisited

I remember a few years ago that Frapin had announced that there was going to be a new perfume to be released. That perfume's name was 1697 and since I had already fallen in love with 1270, I wanted to try it. When I got my hands on a sample, I was so excited. I promptly wore it, reviewed it and decided to not get a bottle. At the time, I was confused with the whole absolu thing and I still don't know what the hell it is. It's not exactly high on my priority list to fund out. I remember saying that 1697 was pretty much a toned down, less boozy version of 1270. While 1270 and 1697 are boozy, 1270 has more booze and stewed fruit than 1697. And since I had gotten another decant of the absolu, I stand by that statement. Wearing a decant of 1697 a few years later and knowing that the absolu isn't being sold anymore makes me want to take another look. I remember taking a look at the price tag for the absolu and saying that I don't love it enough for the price tag. Frapin's price tags are still a little scary to me even though it's a 100ml of perfume. I still stand by my statement that if you like 1270 but find it a little over the top, 1697 would be the better bet. I do love 1697, I don't love it enough to have a bottle since I have 1270. I wouldn't mind if 1697 were dropped in my lap but I am not going to buy it anytime soon.

I still don't know why I decided to visit 1697 again and look through it with new eyes but I did. I think that shopping my collection has something to do with it and being on a no buy. I have been wearing perfumes that I haven't worn in a while and some of them have been waiting over a year for me to grab them. Now, I need to rectify that and hopefully this no buy will help me use up a couple bottles. It's horrible to have almost no space because my collection is large. Maybe not the 700 bottle type of large but the 60 bottle large.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Keeps Getting More Difficult

It seems like this past week in general has been pretty rough. I was surprised with the election results and Trump actually winning the election. Was I disappointed that he won? Yes, because his rhetoric struck me as some newsreels of Germany back in 1932 and it scares me. That is all I am going to say because I am just not exactly motivated to get into or referee any type of political argument.

But since I have pretty much gone on a no buy journey for right now, I have noticed that I am having a bit of trouble with the whole no buy. I will admit to the fact I did buy a vintage bottle of no 22. I was surprised that it was still sealed and the seller said that it was a 1/4 ounce, it was a half an ounce instead. If you are not very familiar with pure parfum sizes, it's easy to do. I will admit to taking advantage of the latest STC flash sale and getting three small decants. I know that I have what seems like a million decants of what I have already worn and reviewed and a thousand more that haven't been reviewed and worn. And I am still sitting on two perfume reviews that I have forgotten to post when I was on vacation.

I am still shopping my collection and starting to look at some of my perfumes a little more closely. I am thinking that I should really think about using up some of these minis that I have lying around and possibly look at selling what I don't wear anymore. The sheer size of my collection has gotten a little ridiculous for me and I do want to do a cull. So I must take a look at E-Bay to see what the fees are.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Dior J'Adore EDP Review

I'm somewhat making good on my challenge on wearing and reviewing things from my bag that I haven't worn yet. Ever since I have started my perfume journey, I haven't been smelling a whole lot of mainstream perfumes. Many of my perfumes are either vintage, discontinued or niche. Yes mainstream does have the tendency to get the short end of the stick with me. Why? Because perfume coming from the mainstream doesn't smell very good to me. J'adore is no exception. After seeing so many commercials for it, I decided to spray my sample on to see what it smelled like.

When I first sprayed J'adore on my skin, I smelled nothing. After a minute, it came on, all at once, like a freight train. All I smelled was this sweet, watery, floral thing that was a little on the harsh side. After about a half an hour in, I was waiting for this to morph into something a little better. Lose that harshness and the aquatic note was what I was mainly looking for. Nope, that was never going to happen during the time I wore it. It just stayed there, for 10 hours and didn't do anything at all besides smell awful to my nose. It's linear to me and it seems to last forever to me. You know, I kind of expect a little better from Dior. Dior gave us the original Miss Dior, Diorling, Diorissimo and many other classics and I am thinking that they are cheapening themselves by making this garbage. I obviously will not be buying this.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Chanel Bois de Iles EDT Review

I did swear that I would review perfumes that I have not worn and reviewed. Last night was the night that I did apply something new to me, Chanel Bois de Iles from the Les Exclusifs line. Bois de Iles is generally well loved on the blogosphere and perfume people. On Now Smell This, some one's husband (can't remember who) looked at either the box or the bottle itself and pronounced it as Box of Eels and that is what it seems to be called on Now Smell This.

I do have a lot of respect for the house of Chanel and a lot of it's creations and I do have a few perfumes loves from Chanel but Bois de Iles isn't one of them. I keep looking at all of these reviews and a few other perfume sites and I am not seeing anything with tuberose, and I'm smelling tuberose. I have said many times before and will say it again, tuberose is my nemesis and if it's tuberose dominant, I'm not going to like it one bit. Some might say maybe the sandalwood or maybe the tonka is giving you that, but I wouldn't know what sandalwood smelled like if it bit me in the butt. I'm maintaining that there is a huge tuberose note in there. At first, it smelled like a typical Chanel, heavy on the aldehydes, rich in the Chanel base. But it king of turned out to be Chanel does tuberose. Sadly for me, that tuberose note seems to take over everything else. I'm sure I would have enjoyed this a whole lot more if it wasn't tuberose dominant to my nose. Lasting power is typical for a Chanel EDT, I get 6 hours on my skin. I will not be buying this one.

Monday, October 24, 2016

Thoughts on Chanel no 5

Yes, there is another flanker to the iconic Chanel no 5. That new flanker is called no 5 L'Eau and yes, I am suspicious of it. I am suspicious of it just like I was of Eau Premiere. Flankers of this classic confuses me. It seems like no 5 would not be the greatest canidate for 1 flanker, let alone 2. Now, Shalimar is something that has spawned many flankers and I can see why. You have room to play around with Shalimar. No 5 doesn't have the room to create flankers. I'm not a big fan of flankers in general but there are exceptions to the rule and some are well done.

I love the regular no 5 and have the current EDP, EDT, and some vintage parfum. I will admit to that I have a bottle of Eau Premiere in the original bottle but no 5 doesn't get a whole lot of love from me so much anymore. When you have a lot of full bottles to choose from an who knows how many decants, there are some perfumes that get lost in the shuffle. I know I shouldn't be picking on Chanel releasing a flanker and people are going to be asking why I am picking on a perfume that I haven't tried yet.

Apparently, Eau Premiere hasn't done as well as it could have or sales have really been horrible for Eau Premiere lately and maybe Chanel thought that a flanker of no 5 would perk people up and get them buying Chanel items again. Maybe the newest Chanel creations (Bleu, Chance, Coco Nior, etc) are not doing anything besides sitting on the shelf. I wish that Chanel would create and release something new that actually smells good and that isn't a flanker. Maybe they should look into ignoring the Les Exlusifs line or change that one completly. No 22 and Cuir de Russie are from the back catalog and should be released as part of their regular line up. Maybe Chanel should start looking at their back catalog and release some of those. The elusive no 46 would be a start as well.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

The Random Post

Today is the last day that I have to go into work before I go on vacation. I have a couple of day trips planned but I am not leaving town. Having a vacation but staying home is a great thing. I don't have to go anywhere, I don't have to do anything, very rarely do I have to actually have to be anywhere. I always plan on wearing some perfumes with the intent of reviewing them and that almost never seems to happen. I hope to rectify that this coming week. I hope to have at least 3 or 4 since I have 10 days off. Hopefully I can stick to that much. My unworn and unreviewed perfume bag will thank me because it's overflowing and I really should see what decants in my reviewed bag have evaporated so I can make room.

After amassing a fairly large perfume collection and going through phases of perfume, I've come across something strange. Normally, in the perfume world, vintage smells better than the current batch of a certain perfume. Sometimes, the current batch smells better. At this point, after not wearing no 22 in forever, something changed. One day, I wore the current formulation and thought about my blog post on the current formulation and the vintage formulation. Something did change with my nose. I found that I actually do like the current formulation loads better than the vintage version. I think that the powder note in the vintage is more pronounced and smothers the other notes to a certain extent. Through my perfume journey, my views of a huge powder note has evolved. I still like powder bombs and musk notes. Laundry musk is nice in it's place but I don't need whopping doses of it in a perfume. The powder note can be huge but I don't like it to be overwhelming.

I think for the rest of this month and most of next month, I will probably be staying off E-Bay due to the fact that I am not going to have a lot of discretionary spending money to look for vintage perfume. I am starting to get into the serious dental work that I need to have done. And the serious dental work is going to cost lots of money, so perfume is mostly out except maybe the random decant of perfume. This will probably be good for me because I seriously need to use up a few bottles so I can have a little more space.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Lip Balm

It's going to be that time of year again. The time of year that involves lip balm. Ever since I started having dental issues, I have developed these little cracks in the corners of my mouth. I'm really thinking with losing a couple back teeth along with my wisdom teeth, make eating uncomfortable. So I am probably malnourished and is causing this. I'm thinking of taking a good multivitamin to help with this. But in the mean time, lip balm is probably going to be the most helpful. Winter is coming too, so lip balm is going to be a necessity soon.

Years ago, especially when I was a kid, you just had either Lip Smackers, Blistex, or Chapstick for your choice of lip balm. For us kids, we wanted the Smackers because they came in all different flavors and if you were into the Chapstick thing, the mint flavor was the way to go. When Blistex came out with the tinted lip balm (when I was a teen), you had to get it. The tinted lip balm didn't exactly fit every one's skin tone but it was the cross between lip gloss and lip balm.

Then everyone started to take notice of Burt's Bees. Burt's Bees has always had some pretty good lip balm that works well on chapped lips. I think that they might have always had a couple flavors but I can't quite be sure. Then they started to do the Lip Smackers thing but not as many flavors and the flavors are a little more 'adult'. Probably because most of their demographic is at least late 20's and older. Gone are the days of having Dr. Pepper, bubble gum and all the other kids flavors but yet not quite ready to for the whole unflavored thing. My favorite flavor/sent of the lip balm has to be the honey one. I had forgotten how good it is.

One of my peeves is that lip balm has gotten into trying to be this lip gloss/lipstick/lip balm thing. I'm not exactly sure why. I know that some lipsticks and stains can dry out lips but it only takes a second to apply regular lip balm. Or somebody is just too lazy to do that and would do it in one step.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

That Moment

Sometimes with perfume, you find ones that you love right away, some that you hate from the onset, and those that take a little while. Deneuve was on that I loved right away, Ubar was one I hated right off the bat and now we get to Amouage Jubilation.

I didn't much care for Jubilation in the beginning because I didn't give it enough time and wearings to make the whole decision that I did kind of like it. There are plenty of perfumes that I have tried months or years later that I just don't like. But Jubilation has an interesting back story for me. I had tried Jubilation fairly early on in my perfume journey, back when I first took the plunge with buying decants. At the time, I tried to like it, I mean really tried to like it. It was Amouage and I had wanted to like Ubar but that smelled like bug spray with a hint of flowers to my nose. Fast forward a few months ago, I had quite a bit of Christmas gift cards on Amazon that I hadn't spent yet. I was going to get Beloved but accidentally bought Jubilation instead. I thought I had bought Beloved but didn't. I couldn't go and return it since Amazon really doesn't accept returns when it comes to perfume. So I was kind of stuck with Jubilation. But then, I started to crave it for some reason. I sprayed it on and it was love. I'm thinking that Jubilation was reformulated and made it more wearable for me.

Maybe I should give some others in my collection a second look.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Tauer Une Rose de Kandahar Review

This month, I have been the laziest blogger. Every time I get an idea, I realize that I have already blogged about it in one form or another. So it left me with wearing something new to me to review. And I kind of got busy with looking at Une Rose de Kandahar from Andy Tauer. And I'm not getting it and I have tried it off and on for the past couple months.

I have always loved and respected Andy Tauer's work, there have been a couple that haven't exactly worked out for me. I love how Andy Tauer has made me see a couple notes through new eyes. But Une Rose de Kandahar is something that I'm not understanding. I don't understand what I am smelling. I'm smelling rose, a dusty rose. The dusty part is not overwhelming or bad, I just don't get the dust part in perfumes too often. With the rose and how dusty it is, I start to get a shaving cream vibe to Kandahar. I haven't smelled a shaving cream this big since I tried Bois 1920 Sushi Imperial. A couple other bloggers have mentioned that they get the apricot in Kandahar but I am not smelling it. But at this point is starting to fade away, leaving with with the dust and the Tauer base that I can more often than not, pick out a mile away. I do love the Tauer base because I find it interesting. At this point in Kandahar, I'm getting the tiniest hints of an animalic note. It's nowhere near the league of Shalimar, let alone vintage Bal but I can pick it out when I sit and look for it. Like a lot of Tauer offerings, I get at least 7 hours of wear out of this one. Kandahar bears no resemblance with Une Rose Chypree or Une Rose Vermeille because I can't smell it.

Would I get a full bottle of this? I don't know because I don't know if I love it or not but I do like it. A 15ml travel size suits me for the moment. Like many Tauer scents, this one is better as a fall perfume or maybe an early winter perfume. Une Rose Vermeille and Ingrid are my summer Tauers.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Beginning of Fall

So it's the beginning of fall and that means that it's time to start switching over to the fall/winter stuff. Even though it's still fairly warm out, the days are starting to get a little cooler and the days are definitely shorter.

Chanel's no 19, no matter what the concentration, is fabulous in it's own right. But it's not exactly fitting in with the shorter days. No 19 is just too bright for fall and winter. For some reason, no 19 makes me even colder in the winter and fall. Bright and sparkling just don't fit with fall and winter.

I have found the while I do love L'Heure Bleue, spraying is just too much for my nose. Too much powder and the powder is huge when sprayed. Since I have managed to score a 3/4 ounce of the parfum version (vintage) a few weeks ago, L'Heure Bleue works even better for me. In the next few months, I will probably spring for a bottle of parfum. But L'Heure Bleue is a great perfume for the dead of winter but can be kind of iffy in fall but it's really good for the cold fall nights.

Some of the fall transition perfumes I do wear year round but they seem to do better in the fall. Theorema in all of it's candied orange goodness, Shalimar and it's vanilla and skank, vintage Bal and it's through and through straight up skank, and let's not forget LADM by Andy Tauer that suits a fall bonfire.

This makes me kind of wish that there were more perfumes that transition well from summer into fall. Are you listening to me perfume gods? It's either perfumes for summer that are as light as can be or the bombastic things for winter when it's only 2 degrees out.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

The Second Look and Le Labo

What perfume warrants a second look? Is it a couple days? A couple months? Or a few years? I was looking through my Amouage sampler that I had bought a couple months ago for no good reason and I am sort of thinking of retrying Honour and Reflection to see if my opinions have changed on them. I know that I have said that they are similar or almost identical to each other. But fast forward a few years and I think that I need to take a fresh look at the both of them. Ubar wasn't in the sampler set and I still have yet to muster up any courage to order a decant to give Ubar another go.

Every year, Le Labo decides to release their city exclusives to the general public. I liked the idea of being able to buy the city exclusives without having to travel to another city to get a bottle. Then Aldehyde 44 was discontinued and then I kind of liked the idea. Now that it's that time of year, I was curious as to pricing and if there would be something I would be interested in. Once in a while, I am not adverse to spending $250 on a bottle of perfume. If I were, I wouldn't have any full bottles of Amouage sitting on my dresser. I do have limitations of some of this. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the prices for a 1.7 ounce bottle. Almost $300 for a 50ml bottle. Serge Lutens sells his bell jars at Barney's for $300 and I would get 75mls. I haven't bought a Serge Lutens bell jar yet from Barney's but I'm thinking about it. Everyone knows that they have limitations and I have mine that I rarely cross. If I do cross a limitation, I must really want something. This time, I'm not crossing it.

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Andy Tauer Sotta La Luna Tuberose Review

It's no secret that I do enjoy Andy Tauer's work. I might not find all of his offering wearable on my skin but I do like or love most of Andy Tauer's creations and have quite a few. But I have made no secret of the fact that tuberose is one of my nemesis' in perfume. And yes, I willingly tried Sotto La Luna Tuberose. Because I keep hoping with a lot of tuberose dominant perfumes that I will find one that I work for me and that I do love.

I got a sample of Tuberose when I ordered those travel sprays from the Andy Tauer website. I wouldn't have picked out the sample myself so it was a surprise to find it. Ever since I got those 5 samples, I have been playing around with testing out Tuberose and one day, actually put it on skin.

When Tuberose first hits my skin, I don't get out and out tuberose right away. I get a huge amount of methanol and then a huge blast of vegital green and the green is more of the sliced green pepper vibe to my nose. Then the starring note, tuberose, comes out. The tuberose isn't what you find it many tuberose dominant perfume. This isn't Fracas in all of it's loud creaminess. This is a green tuberose. The tuberose is still in this one and still a dominant note. Tuberose isn't interested in being loud, brash, creamy and buttery and that is what seems to make tuberose difficult to me. Most tuberose dominant perfumes, to my nose, seem to just use tuberose and nothing else, no rose, no jasmine, no nothing else. It's nice to see that there are other notes that are in this that stand up to the tuberose and prevents the tuberose from getting overwhelming. In Tuberose, I haven't smelled the famous Taurade that is a common theme in Andy Tauer's offerings. The lasting power is about 6 hours on my skin and that seems to be the norm for my skin in the summer. Tuberose is an EDP and sold at the usual places.

I do have a liking for Tuberose and think it is at least decant worthy for me. I haven't decided if this is full bottle worthy for me. I'm happy right now to have a tuberose dominant perfume that kind of works for me but I think that I will have to spend more time with Tuberose.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

The Large Bottles

Here is another post on bottle sizes, I think that it is a second post of bottle sizes, I can't be sure. But there are a few massive ones in my collection. I'm not talking about the 3.4 ounces of anything. Yes, 3.4 ounces can be a lot of perfume but I'm talking the bottles that are more than that. I'm talking those monster bottles.

It is rare to see huge bottles today. Huge as in more than 3.4 ounces in modern perfumery. Dior and Chanel have large bottles of some of their offerings but that is rare. I more often see incredibly large bottles of perfume regularly on E-Bay. The ones I see on E-Bay most often are vintage perfumes and the most common seem to be are vintage Guerlains. I do think that back in the '50's and '60's maybe even before, perfume was considered a huge luxury and you wanted the biggest bottle that one could afford. Now those bottles, even empty, are a pretty penny, if you go looking on E-Bay. Unless you have a really good thrift store, Goodwill or an antique store, you are limited to E-Bay, like I am.

Friday, August 19, 2016

Xerjoff Irisss Review

I'm getting on a roll right now, reviewing things. But like I have said, my unreviewed pile and mostly unworn pile of decants keeps growing and I really need to get a move on with going at it.

I have been meaning to get a decant of Irisss and wear it for quite a while. Now I finally have actually remembered to test it out to see what this one smelled like. I do love Serge Lutens's Iris Silver Mist and was hoping that Irisss would blow my mind when I smelled it. And I was hoping that it would be like ISM. Mind was not blown, the clouds didn't part and the angels didn't start singing.

After I first put Irisss, I got the airy, carroty, earthy opening that I could have sworn smelled just like ISM. I like my iris all carroty and earthy but I wasn't expecting something identical to ISM. Then after a few minutes, there was a shift. Not a huge shift but to my nose, there was a shift. The iris in all of it's glory was still there and dominant, the incense and woods came out to play. In ISM, there is a wood note in there and the wood note is smooth and lends support to the iris. The woods and incense in Irisss is jarring and doesn't quite mesh in Irisss. To my nose this makes, the woods and incense makes Irisss a little muddled and leaves me unimpressed. The lasting power on this is about 5 hours on my skin. For the price tag, I expected a little bit more and better. So now, my Amex can breath a sigh of relief and I won't be looking at Irisss anytime soon.

Monday, August 15, 2016

Tokyo Milk Dark Arsenic

It seems like my pile of decants keeps growing without stopping. So it was time to pick one to wear and review. This time around I chose something from Tokyo Milk. I've never tried something from Tokyo Milk so Arsenic is going to be the first.

At first, all I get is this funky green. I'm not talking like the funky green bite of no 19 but some sort of green. Maybe it's the wormwood in there that is making the green all funky. Next comes the vanilla note which remains until the end. I can't comment on the salt note nor the fennel because I have never consciously sought them out in perfume. This perfume lasts about 5 hours on my skin and for me, it was probably an hour or two too long for my liking. So even though it is dirt cheap, I won't be buying a bottle.

Do I expect the clouds to part and angels to sing every time I try a new perfume? No, I wish that would happen but it doesn't. It's rare that it does.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Lolita Lempicka L'Eau Jolie EDT Review

What was it, a year ago, that I did review the original Lolita Lempicka perfume and loved it. I compared it to L'Heure Bleue and quite possibly very similar L'Heure de Nuit as well; without all of the powder. I guess it was time to see what else the house of Lolita Lempicka has to offer. What is great about Lolita Lempicka's offerings is that they are dirt cheap, and I mean dirt cheap. Dirt cheap isn't a bad thing, there are many perfumes that are great. It's always a wonderful thing to find a great smelling perfume and not have to shell out big bucks for it. So why not check out more of this line?

L'Eau Jolie starts off by being nice. Plain, boring type of nice. I was starting to get a little bummed right off the bat with Jolie. After the first minute, I smelled something fishy, like that I have smelled this before; I knew that I had smelled something like this before. Then it hit me, it was Amouage Reflection that it smells like. Almost word for word. I'm getting the huge aquatic note and I more often than not hate aquatic because I find it overused in mainstream perfume. The aquatic thing stays dominant from top to bottom. Then comes the fruit and flowers. I'm thinking that it is the black currant that is giving off the fruit bit. But I smell more fruit than flowers in this one. Since it is an EDT, Jolie lasted only 4 hours on my skin before mercifully leaving. Having an EDT last for 4 hours on my skin is a pretty big deal but when it's something I don't like, it can't disappear on skin fast enough.

For a perfume that is probably no more than $30 anywhere, I should have probably expected less than more out of this one. Jolie is best suited on tweens and teens, maybe at the very outside, a college student.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Chanel Coco Parfum Review

When The Guide came out, I spent a lot of time reading it. At the time, I was fascinated with the classic Chanels. Then I cam across the review of the original Coco. Either Sanchez or Turin said that it was dated (can't remember which one). So I promptly ordered a 5ml decant of the EDP version, when TPC and STC was still able to sell decants of Chanel. A little later on, I ordered a smidgen of the parfum version because I know that there are differences between the EDT, EDP, and parfum in all of the Chanels. I did find the EDP version to be dated.

Chanel is known for the little black dress and Chanel no 5. Chanel has so many perfumes to chose from and there a many people who don't follow or explore perfume, all they know from Chanel is no 5, Coco Mademoiselle and the whole Chance line. Now on to Coco in parfum form.

Coco in parfum form smells just like Coco in EDP form but it is a little different. I detect a little more powder in the composition. If you are thinking this is a powder bomb, it isn't. The powder is more pronounced in the parfum than in the EDP. I would call Coco, no matter what the concentration, an oriental. Oriental is not what Chanel does very often, they stick mainly to the aldehyde, jasmine, rose, iris mix. The parfum version is a little more mellow than the EDP version but still smells like Coco. But even this version of Coco smells like a typical '80's perfume (Opim, Giorgio, Obsession). Maybe a little less dated but dated all the same.

Friday, July 29, 2016

Amouage Fate Woman Review

Sample sets seem to be my latest thing right now. After getting Andy Tauer's choose 3 travel sprays and Amouage Lyric travel sprays, I've become addicted to getting travel sprays and samplers. This time I went with the Amouage sample set. When I tore open the package, the packaging was definitely Amouage but I was holding my breath. Buying from third party sellers on Amazon can be a little scary. Some of them are really clever and will be dishonest about whatever they are selling. With perfume as expensive as Amouage is, I was hoping this seller was honest and actually did give me the real thing.

The sample set wasn't really described. Described as in what I was getting. All I knew was that I was getting 12 two milliliters of Amouage women offerings. But that made it all the more exciting for me. So I opened the package that it came in and I can say that the package and the sprays are very nice. Naturally, I had to look and see which ones that I had gotten. It was every Amouage that I have tried except Fate and Journey. Yesterday, before I went to bed and a reapplication this morning, I am wearing Fate.

I'm not sure what to make of Fate. It starts off with being like Beloved Woman due to the powder. The powder isn't very heavy but the powder is there. When I thought that it was going to be a variation of Beloved, it became a changeling. It really started to smell like Interlude Woman. The structure is there almost word for word but it is slightly different. It almost seems like a mishmash of Beloved and Interlude with some leather thrown in there. I am not all that great with picking out individual notes but there are some that I can pick out. In Fate, I do smell powder, leather and some cinnamon in there. But the structure and smell is mostly like Interlude. I respect Fate but I don't much care for it and my Amex is liking me for the fact that I won't buy it.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Missing Decants

Anybody who has been at this perfume collecting bit knows that besides having a million full bottles of perfume, there are a million decants lying around. Most of the time, I keep my decants and bottles isolated to my bedroom. Sometimes, that doesn't exactly happen.

I have never lost a full bottle in my house but there are a few decants that I just cannot find for the life of me. I think that what might have happened is that I have taken a couple decants out of my apron pocket from work and set them down without actually putting them away. So right now, I can't find my decant of Theorema and something with Andy Tauer and the name is escaping me right now but all I know is that it's a green lily of the valley. I'm wondering especially of how in the world can I misplace a large decant of Theorema? I know that I have 5 full bottles of Theorema but Theorema is discontinued and getting more expensive by the day.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Chanel No 22 Parfum Review

After Phi Une Rose de Kandahar wore off yesterday, it was time for a different perfume. I don't know exactly why my choice landed one no 22 in parfum instead of either no 22 in EDT form or Shalimar. I think that since I had dinner plans and it involved someone who is sensitive to perfume, parfum was the way to go. I know for a fact that I have two bottles of vintage Shalimar and maybe should have worn that instead.

I had been floating around E-Bay earlier this year for a bottle of vintage no 22 but the prices were ridiculous. Even Chanel is getting ridiculous with their current stuff and pricing. So after spending a few days checking around, my eyes landed on a half an ounce of the current formulation for a little less than $100. I was all over it because this stuff for a half an ounce is $200. And the bottle was full and with E-Bay, that is a rarity in itself to find a full bottle.

Coming from E-Bay, knowing that there was a good chance that it might be a fake, I did put some on skin. It wasn't fake, it was definitely no 22 but in parfum form. I do love no 22 but don't wear it often because it is something that I have to be in the mood for. Chanel is somewhat known for having 4 or 5 different concentrations of the same perfume but they are different animals. This is a slightly different animal than the EDT. No 22 in EDT is a huge, and I mean HUGE, aldehydic powder bomb with a nice nose note added in. The parfum is a little different. The parfum is still aldehydic and powder but since it is in dabber form and I am not even going to attempt to spray this one, it is subdued. I did notice that this one has a musk note in it. I have not noticed the musk in the EDT form, probably since all I smell is aldehydes, powder and rose. The parfum doesn't have a whole lot of throw in it but it does last for quite a while, at least 5 or 6 hours. Would I get no 22 again? After I finish the EDT and parfum, most likely no.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Summertime Skank, What Do You Wear?

I've always had a liking for perfumes that do have a skank note in them and I do wear them year round. I've never been a fan of anything that has an ozone note, super aquatic, or super clean. But it's summertime and that means warm weather sometimes hot and humid. I sometimes wonder how skanky perfumes fit into this. But I do have at least a couple that work.

1. Jicky. I do have to dig for the skank in Jicky in the EDT and EDP version but it is in there. The parfum version is were the skank is without digging for it. I think I might have to get that tester bottle that I've been eyeballing for a while.

2. Shalimar. Shalimar right off the bat has a skank note that I don't have to dig for like I do with Jicky. With Shalimar I do have to be a little more careful in the summer with. On really hot and humid days, even with air conditioning, it can be unbearable. The reason I put down Shalimar is because it is one of the lighter orientals that can be worn in spring and summer in the right circumstances.

3. Worth Courtesan. The sweat skank. Courtesan is great when the temps are in the 90's and it's humid out. The skank is a little more like Jicky and you have to dig for it but not as much as Jicky. But it is a faint skank full of fruit and sweat and I'm not the biggest fan of fruity perfumes

4. Vintage Bal a Versailles. That is not a little bit of skank but through and through skank. I would go applying the parfum version in the summer but the EDC version is the best for the hot and humid days and it doesn't last forever and a day. After the EDC wears off, you can either apply again or wear something different.

5. Diorissimo EDP. The current version of the EDP is very different than the current version of the EDT. The EDP is quite different, I still get lily of the valley but from start to finish, it's about the jasmine. Jasmine in all of it's indolic, skanky glory.

What are your perfumes that are skanky that you wear in the summer?

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Andy Tauer Orange Star Review

When Portia had done a post on Perfume Posse for free shipping if you bought something from Andy Tauer's website. I think it was specifically for the travel sprays that come in a set of three and I was sold. When you think about it and the American dollar compared to the Swiss franc, $120 for 3 15ml travel sprays is a pretty good deal. It's a good deal knowing how expensive niche perfumes can be (Amouage, Xerjoff). What sold me even more is that you aren't limited to one perfume, like other perfume houses seem to do, but you could chose 3 different ones. Yes, I was sold and bought myself a travel set of three different perfumes that I have never tried before, which may or may not be the greatest idea. I had chosen Orange Star, Eau D'Epices and PHI Une Rose de Kandahar. All three arrived on my doorstep on Wednesday and I had forgot something. I forgot that if you order something from overseas, you do have to sign for that something.

I was so excited and tore open the package. I was just expecting to have the three travel sprays and the invoice but not all of what was in there. Lucky Scent sends about 3 or 4 dabber samples when you order something and dabbers don't do it for me unless it's pure parfum. In a little metal container, there were 5 spray samples. These spray samples are not little spray samples but they must be around 2mls. I wasn't expecting the little note thanking me for my purchase either, so yes, it blew my mind.

The first one to be tried was Orange Star. I'm very fussy about citrus because half the time, citrus smells just like oven cleaner and other times, my stomach just churns because it smells powdery or dusty. Orange Star manages to stay away from the powder. In the beginning, Orange Star flirts with the whole oven cleaner thing then decides that going that route sucks. I get a little bit of a shaving cream vibe along with the typical Tauer base. There is no mistaking that this isn't anything but an Andy Tauer creation. Orange Star is a little bit on the sweet side but not much, which would make it easier for a guy to wear. The longevity is fabulous because I was able to go for a full 8 hours before I needed to spend more time with it.

I'm not sure if it is bottle worthy for me but it is definitely large decant worthy for me. So yes, my Amex is eyeing me with heavy dissaproval and hoping that I won't bother to order a bottle because I have enough decants and full bottles to last a lifetime.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Guerlain L'Heure Bleue Vintage Parfum Review

My hunt still continues for a bottle that is reasonably priced vintage L'Heure Bleue. But so far, I'm coming up empty. Vintage L'Heure Bleue is hard to come by and expensive and yet I keep looking.

By chance, it was either The Perfumed Court or Surrender to Chance was having some sort of sale and I pounced on a very small decant of the vintage parfum version. At that point, I could only afford a fourth of a milliliter. I wasn't about to have a repeat performance of what I did with Chanel's Cuir de Russie. I actually put Cuir de Russie in a spray decant and naturally sprayed, Never again will I put pure parfum in a spray decant. Pure parfum is meant to be dabbed, not sprayed. I think that a roller ball would be the only way I could do the application of parfum. Dabbing is really not me deal, so it's either spray or roller ball.

I do not have the current version of LHB in parfum form but I do have the current version of the EDP that I hardly ever reach for. Since I am not spraying the vintage stuff, LBH parfum isn't as loud nor the huge powder bomb that the EDP is. But the vintage is pretty close to the current EDP. The orange blossom is a little more pronounced along with the anise. The musk is a little different since it comes from a time when there were no regulations on ingredients. The musk gives a animalic growl. It's not the animalic growl that makes vintage LHB a total skank bomb like vintage Bal. Sadly, like most Guerlain parfums, it doesn't last on my skin. I would like to have this last a little longer my skin. The vintage LHB is worth seeking out and trying.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Amouage Interlude Man Review

Last night, I was seeing if I could pull myself out of my perfume rut by wearing something new. I went through my bag and pulled out Amouage Interlude Man. Interlude Woman wasn't exactly my deal initially but it is slowly growing on me. Interlude Man is quite different.

I do see the similarities between man and woman but Interlude Man really isn't my thing. On my skin, I get nothing but that dirty, stale ashtray thing and I know what I'm talking about. I am a smoker myself and I have been to too many places where there have been to many of those ashtrays and with dirty and stale, you get the whole sour note on top of it. I really think that it is the agar wood smoke combined with the oregano that is causing this on my skin. This ashtray note lasts and lasts on my skin and this doesn't lead to any kind of development. I have never known Amouage to have poor lasting power and this definatly  has the Amouage lasting power of at least 8 hours on my skin. With the dirty ashtray element, I won't be getting a bottle of this anytime soon. Good thing because Amex is breathing a sigh of relief.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Nothing to Wear

Come lately, I have found myself standing in front of my perfume collection with nothing to wear. It's kind of an oxymoron to me. I have all these full bottles and decants and yet can't find one perfume to wear. Let's face it, I have boatloads of Chanel, Amouage, some Andy Tauer and many others and not a whole lot gets a lot of wear.

I am finding myself in a rut. I find myself wearing the same handful of perfume over and over again and have been doing a lot of neglecting. I have tried out a few of my samples that I have not reviewed yet but I'm too lazy to review them. Yet the unworn and unreviewed pile keeps growing by the minute.

With the substantial collection that I have, I don't know how I can end up with nothing to wear. So everyday, I have taken to reading Now Smell This and the SOTD posts to see if I can get inspired with what I haven't worn yet or in a while or continue on with what I might have been wearing a couple days in a row. I hope this rut breaks soon.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Guerlain Les Parisiennes Liu Review

I keep trying to review Guerlain's Liu but I am having some trouble with. But here it goes. There are some conflicting stories about the beginnings of Liu in the perfume world. Probably the most realistic one is that in the 1920's just about every perfume house was doing an aldehydlic perfume to copy the success of Chanel no 5. At the time, Chanel was not the fashion icon as we see it today but an upstart. But I think that Guerlain, to a certain extent, wanted to keep up on the current fashions and this was probably another way to keep current.

When I first spray Liu, I thought that Liu was no 5 in EDP form word for word. For a while, while I was wearing it, I pretty much ignored it and thought I dodged a bullet. Then I took another look. After the first 20 minutes, the aldehydes were not as oily as no 5 EDP. The powder aspect that I smell is not like I would get no no 5 or no 22 but more of in the line of Amouage Dia. I smell more of the jasmine and neroli in Liu than I do in no 5. Lasting power in Liu is great because I get 8 hours of steady wear before Liu fades into nothing.

Would I ever consider getting a full bottle? Since I have enough Chanel no 5 and no 22, a full bottle of Liu, I am having a hard time justifying a full bottle. As much as I love the bottle that Liu comes in, the 4.2 ounces is more than I need and the $280 price tag is a little hard to swallow. So it's large decant for me.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

The Short List, The Long List. How do you do it?

It seems like every perfumista has a few lists. The list for perfumes they don't like, the ones they like, the ones that they love. There could be a list for notes, perfume houses and such but that isn't what I'm so interested in. It's the list of the to buy. I wonder how others do this. Is there a short list, a long list or something totally different?

Usually when I initially fall in love with something, I will order another decant but a little larger decant. If I drain that larger decant, I take a look at my full bottle collection and see how much I love it and if I already have something similar in my collection. If I don't, I take a look at the two lists that I have going. One list is what I call my "short list". The short list is the ones that are the ones that I want the most. The "long list" is the one for the ones that I can wait for a while before buying. What can be great about the long list is that I often do retest later on (sometimes I have a squirt or two left of a larger decant) to see if I still do want a full bottle and most of the time, I don't. I usually find it larger decant worthy and not a full bottle.

The short list perfumes are funny things. I love them and want a bottle but there are things that make me stop short on getting a full bottle. Most of the time it is price that stops me and I figure out how long it would take me to save up for a bottle. And sometimes it's how big the bottle is (I'm looking at Liu and L'Heure de Nuit). I can justify the cost of Guerlain's Liu due to the fact that for a shade over 4 ounces, yes, it can cost a shade over maybe $200 but I'm not sure yet if I want to spend almost $280. There are a few others on my short list that I would like but perfume prices are starting to kill me along with smaller bottle sizes because I am like a few other people, I want the most bang I can get for my buck.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Clothes Shopping

I'm not one of those that enjoys clothes shopping. Clothes shopping is akin, for me, like going out and getting milk and toilet paper because I am either out or almost out. I always loved watching What Not to Wear on TV when it was on and did get some ideas. But it was the bad clothing that drew me in.

But going clothes shopping, even online, is a chore. I am 5 foot 4 inches and I am in a dead zone when in comes to a lot of clothing. I am more often or not swimming in shirts or the shirts are way too small and tight. Finding pants are even worse. Most of the time, they are too long for me and I mean way too long on me. When I do find something that might work, they are way too short.

Let's get back to the dead zone of being 5 foot 4 and a size 18. The dead zone is more of my height that it is my weight. I think that quite a bit of the fashion industry forgets that there are those of us who are not 6 feet tall and nor are we just 5 feet tall. A good chunk of women are not a size zero. I wish there was more uniformity in the clothing industry that would make it easier for shorter girls like me to get clothes that actually fit.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Annick Goutal Songes EDT Review

For once, I actually wanted and did pick something out of my unworn bag and wore it. The first perfume that I picked out turned out to be Songes by Annick Goutal in the EDT form. I have heard quite a bit about this one and seems to be well loved in the perfume community.

After all that I have read about this one and how so many said it was jasmine heavy along with lots of plumeria, I am not getting a whole lot of jasmine at all. I'm getting a butt load of tuberose and tuberose isn't listed on the official notes. The tuberose isn't as loud as Fracas but it's very dominant to me. I'm one of those that isn't afraid to admit to the fact that I do like big white floral but I really don't like tuberose at all. I don't hate tuberose but it's pretty close but I adore jasmine, the more indolic, the better. I do get some plumeria but not a whole lot. The lasting power is about 5 hours on my skin and it's a very long 5 hours. I was hoping that it would morph into something that I could get past the tuberose opening but it didn't happen. So yes, I don't like it. Turns out, I do like plumeria in perfume, I still don't like tuberose and my Amex is happy about not getting a bottle of Songes.

Friday, April 29, 2016

Tableau de Parfums Ingrid EDP review

A few months ago, LuckyScent sent me an e-mail of perfumes that were either being discontinued or were not going to carry anymore. Naturally, I bit because of the fact that three of Andy Tauer's offerings were on the list. And the three perfumes were on my to try list but really didn't see them on Surrender to Chance or The Perfumed Court. The samples being offered by LuckyScent were dabbers and dabbers are not my style when it comes to perfume. So buying a full bottle blind was my only choice at this point. Most of the time, I don't go buying full bottles of anything blind but this time, it turned out well. I didn't get all three bottles but chose Ingrid because it sounded most like me in spite of the citrus notes. And I was mostly right.

Ingrid starts out with citrus. Not the oven type nor the candied or dusty citrus but bright citrus like I just cut up a lemon. Soon the lemon and the others fade into the background and then the famous Tauer base comes in. The Tauer base isn't as strong as it normally is but it is still noticeable and I love it because the frangipani comes into play. On my skin, it's huge and I mean huge and I love it. While the frangipani looms large after the citrus mostly dies off and the Tauer base hums in the background, I get hints of vanilla. It's not a lot but it peeks out then runs away again. I'm happy that this one lasts forever on my skin. I would say about a good 10 hours and most Tauer offerings last at least 7 hours on me. This one has probably been my best blind buy in a good long time. I think that there might be a bottle or two left on LuckySent.

*photo stolen from Fragrancia

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Vintage Diorling EDT Review

The chypre family is one of those perfume families I just love. I love the bergamot, labdanum and oakmoss balance of them. Especially in vintage form because oakmoss is one of those ingredients that can only be used in the most minuscule amounts in today's world. In vintage form where else can I smell the inkyness of oakmoss? And this brings me to vintage Diorling.

I don't have a full bottle of the current version of Diorling but have a decant and I so wear it but I was always wanting to get my hands on a vintage version, and I have gotten my hands on some. Even in the current formulation, Diorling is not about flowers, even though they are in there. The vintage version is all about the leather and the whole chypre concept. But the leather in the vintage is amped up, the leather is not plush at all. I like leather but I lean to the plush side of leather, so it is a little difficult to wear Diorling. My note of fresh green peppers is still there but that bite isn't quite there. The oakmoss is not as inky as I thought it would be but it is there. I probably get 4 or 5 hours from the vintage version of Diorling, which is great on my perfume eating skin. Diorling, new or vintage, is worth seeking out.

*picture taken from etsy

Monday, April 25, 2016

Of Travel Sets, Rollerballs and Hoarding

This month seems to be a little lean for me in the wants of perfume. Not a whole lot of visiting E-Bay and Surrender to Chance. Just not interested right now, thanks a lot cellphone bill and activation fees. Yep, I switched cell carriers and the family and I got new phones, so there was some pearl clutching when I saw the first bill. But I was thinking and looking at my hoard of perfume.

With my collection, quite a number of it seems to be back ups. Back ups of discontinued and vintage finds but I'm still looking for that reasonably priced bottle of vintage L'Heure Bleue but coming up empty handed. So I keep looking. But after gazing at my collection filled with multiples and such, I asked myself on why I was hoarding some of this. Five bottles of Theorema, what the hell, I should be wearing this more often. A million bottles of vintage Bal, I am out of my mind, I need to wear this every night to bed just to finish one bottle of this. Nine bottles of vintage and new Mitsouko, I have to get that one bottle unstuck but I am starting on trying to finish one bottle of that. But there are a couple that I could mention but I have to get a move on.

Then after looking at all of that, my eyes landed on that Amouage Lyric travel set and that Tocca Florence rollerball. I like the idea of the travel sets and rollerballs. First off, they can be more economical than buying a full bottle. You might now get the equivalent of a full bottle but you can come pretty close. The Lyric travel set that I got came with 3 refills but had four total and it came to 1.32 ounces. So it was pretty close and with a FragranceNet discount, I had paid a shade over a $100, no joke. Now if the Epic set was a little cheaper, I would add that to my collection but I will stick to the two full bottles that I have and get the body butter. But the Tocca line has some decent offerings, perfume wise. What I have tried hasn't been earth shattering for me but it is a decent line. Not really niche but not exactly mainstream. The only brick and mortar store that I have seen them in is Sephora. Those that regularly shop/scout the perfume will have seen them already. But what I do like about the Tocca line is that they have created a rollerball version of their offerings. I like that because I don't really want a full bottle of Florence or pretty much any of them. I got the Florence due to the fact that Bath and Body Works wrongfully discontinued Gardenia Lily and Florence comes close but not quite enough to justify a full bottle.

But all in all, the fact remains that I must start to finish off a few bottles. My dresser is overflowing with perfume.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Spring Still Isn't Here

Here in Cleveland, even though spring is technically here, winter hasn't gotten the memo. Yep, it's still cold and we had another blast of snow. I honestly was starting to think that spring was actually coming but it still hasn't arrived yet. This means that my bedroom, especially my closet is a disaster. Disaster as in clothes and shoes everywhere. I'm sorting through all of my clothes trying to get rid of clothes, trying to put the winter stuff away and getting out my spring/summer stuff. I really hate doing this kind of stuff because it is labor intensive and there never seems to be enough space for anything. There isn't really a whole lot of clothing that I can donate due to quite a bit being so worn and holey and besides, who wants to wear used underwear? So most everything that I am not keeping, goes right into the trash. But with what I have done already, I realized that I'm pretty close to not having a whole lot to wear. But that's okay, eventually, I will have to get more jeans and tops.

But with the cold weather followed by a couple days of warm weather and then getting cold again is making picking out a perfume a little more difficult. I always hate this whole rapid fire change in the weather. I really want to start wearing short sleeves and start breaking out Chanel no 19, Deneuve and some Courtesan. I'm so over the cold and snow.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Perfume Frenemies

Does anyone have perfume(s) in your collection that can be called a frenemy? I certainly do. It starts out as reading about a perfume and then going over to the perfume counter to get a sniff. Then a few days or weeks later, you either order online and it arrives on your doorstep or you buy it at an actual brick and mortar store. And then you wonder what the hell happened.

It's happened to me a couple times with a few of my perfumes. Let's start with Diorissimo shall we. Diorissimo and I started out as almost the best of buds. I had a decant of pre-reformulation EDT, then I tried the current EDP version. I really liked both but the EDP called to me a little more. I'm thinking that it was the whopping dose of jasmine that was a little poopy. And there was the fact that I really didn't have a Dior in my stable at that point. I don't exactly know what happened with Diorissimo.

Another example of a perfume frenemy is L'Heure Bleue. I do love L'Heure Bleue because of it's historical value but it's the powder that makes it a frenemy. I swear that it is a huge powder bomb in the current formulation, as I have yet to smell the vintage version. I find that wearing Apres L'Ondee much easier to wear because there is little to no powder and is pretty much the same structure as LHB. L'Heure de Nuit is different though. LHN is the one with a whole lot less powder and there is some laundry musk in there but I find it easier to wear than LHB.

At the end of the day, I'm not one to reach for any of these perfumes that often. I guess it's because these perfumes are exausting to wear after a while/

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

No Motivation and La Fille de Berlin

I absolutely have not motivation to even delve into my unreviewed pile of decants. The last one I was trying out was La Fille de Berlin. But I think that I am going to give it a go anyway.

La Fille de Berlin is a huge rose. But the rose is not this sweet delicate thing like I would get in La Majeste la Rose and that one was a little more on the jammy side. It's not on the dirty side like Voleur de Roses, nor the spicy Amouage Epic Woman. It is an assertive rose and a little bit on the jammy side. It's not massively aggressive but it does border on it though. After the initial blast of nothing but an assertive rose, I do get some animalic undertones but I wouldn't go calling it animalic, La Fille just flirts with it for a few minutes. The rose still stays as a dominant rose perfume with hints of musk. What surprised me is that my decant actually gave me some staying power. More often than not, decants of any Serge Lutens offerings don't make it past four hours but this lasts of my skin for 7 hours. The Serge Lutens spray bottles that I do own, when I spray from them, I get 10 hours of lasting power. My verdict is that I would either go for a full bottle or a very large decant, I haven't quite decided on which list it would go on, color of the juice not withstanding.

Monday, March 14, 2016

Spring Like

In Cleveland, we are getting a blast of spring like weather. It's more than warm enough outside and I have the windows open. Hey, I've got to let the stale winter air out of the house somehow and doing some kind of spring cleaning around my wacky work schedule. Some of the crocuses that I have are blooming but I am really waiting for is the hyacinth and lilac bushes to start blooming.

But thongs have changed. Hoodies and sweaters have given way to short sleeved shirts. I wouldn't say that it is tank top weather, it's not even close. Short sleeve t-shirts feel very strange right now after going through months or wearing long sleeves. Even three quarter legnth sleeves feel strange.But looking around and seeing if Gap and a couple other places to see if there might be something that would perk up my wardrobe. But it looks like there is not. It must be because of the fact that we are between seasons.

This time of year is more of a transition period from winter to spring. So perfume choices are goofy and I am looking at my collection to see what exactly would fit. I've been wearing a lot of Theorema, vintage Bal and no 19. Sometimes I would add Jicky into the lineup but not quite often enough. I do wear my Amouages no matter what the weather but I'm careful with them in heat. The tiniest little bit usually does it but I am not in the mood to apply an Amouge today

Monday, March 7, 2016

Balmain Ivoire Vintage EDT

I am a person that does like green perfumes or chypre perfumes. I really do just by looking at my perfume collection. Multiple bottles of vintage Mitsouko, current and vintage bottles of Chanel no 19, tons of minis of Deneuve. But I'm not talking about those perfumes today. I'm talking about vintage Balmain Ivoire in EDT form.

When I was reading The Guide, Balmain Ivoire was in there and I kept forgetting to get a decant. Then I did get the decant but have been too lazy to try it out but now, I have finally tried it.  It seems like when Ivoire was released, it was the time where perfume was becoming for of an every day luxury instead of a special occasion type of deal. Let's think of it, when I reviewed a vintage bottle of Miss Dior, the box still had a price sticker of $6.50 so that bottle was probably from the mid to late '50's where the average paycheck was probably around $100 a week.

At first, I couldn't exactly figure I what I was smelling. Because it smelled like so many different green perfumes that I own that I couldn't figure it out. It smelled most like Givenchy III from start to finish. But the odd thing is that the huge rose note is really similar to Chanel no 19 in EDP form. What I first smelled was very green aldehydes that is reminiscent of Deneuve, then the rose note like no 19 in EDP form. But after that, it really was Givenchy III after/under the whole deal. This is when I love vintage EDC or EDT, I can get a great longetivity out of it. Ivoire lasted about 6 hours on me. Since I have no 19, Deneuve and Mitsouko, I probably will hold off on looking for a bottle for a little bit.

Monday, February 29, 2016

Leap Day

It's Leap Day and I'm impatiently waiting for spring. This time of year I am really sick of winter. Sick of the wearing of coats, long sleeve shirts, hoodies and getting pretty sick of wearing heavy perfumes. This is the time of year where what I would normally wear during spring and summer. Chanel no 19, Deneuve, Chamade, Patou Joy are what I seem to be reaching for more often. But I am still wearing vintage Bal quite a bit. I just can't wait to have spring arrive so I can start wearing short sleeves again and quit using so much moisturizer.

At this stage I keep poking around Gap and Old Navy checking to see what they have for spring and if I am seeing anything, it's not really my style or it isn't in my size. But I am one of those people that is in between a size with shirts and it can be difficult to find anything that I like. I've never been one to go into loud colors or patterns, I just look goofy in large and loud patterns. And they seem to make me look bigger than I already am.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Miss Dior Vintage EDC Review

For some odd reason, I have a few bottles of vintage Miss Dior waiting to be worn and reviewed. Now is the perfect time to be reviewing it. On one bottle I scored a pretty awesome deal for the version of Miss Dior. Got the vintage version of Miss Dior EDC and vintage Diorissimo along with it. Both in box and sealed. On both of the hounds tooth boxes, there is no bar code and the price tag says $6.50. That is how vintage my bottles are. They were made back in the day where perfume was a very expensive luxury and most didn't buy perfume let alone wear it. So the lucky few that were not millionaires, had only one bottle of perfume and wore it sparingly. I think that after WWII, when this was released, $6.50 on a bottle of perfume took a healthy chunk out of what most make in a week. Now, times have changed and perfume has become more affordable.

Now, onto Miss Dior. In the beginning of my perfume journey, I did have a bit of a hard time with chypres. I couldn't really understand them, let alone enjoy them but I was intrigued by them. Then Deneuve and Diorling came along and then I understood. It was the chypre structure that I really loved and learned to really love oakmoss. The beginning of Miss Dior is a little tough and I am thinking that it's because of the aldehydes are either too harsh for Miss Dior or they are starting to go off. Then the galbanum and jasmine come in with the oakmoss comes through. I smell the other notes but can't pick out what they are. What did surprise me is that there is a animalic note that hits right about 15 minutes into wearing. I do love a skank note in perfume but not quite sure if this example is something I like. A few more wearings will tell. I really liked that this was a vintage version of an EDC because I get at least 5 hours of wear on skin. With any modern EDC, I am lucky if I get an hour or two of wear. I do think that I might get another bottle of vintage to make sure I am stocked up a little bit.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Out Sick

I just love being sick with a head cold. Can't breathe, can't taste anything, and definitely can't smell a damned thing. Well, I can only catch whiffs of things once in a great while but it's still not fun. I don't exactly have a perfume I wear that I wear only when I am sick. But I'm definitely not trying anything new when sick nor am I wearing my expensive stuff.

But being sick and not being able to smell can have advantages. No smelling of the Bath and Body Works garbage that I smell on teen girls nor the Axe stuff on guys. But it means that I can't really smell my own perfume. I do have some perfumes that I wear quite often when I do have a head cold. I do wear Lolita Lempicka or Jicky when I get sick. Jicky because it's somewhat inexpensive and I don't exactly have to worry about over applying. Lolita Lempicka, I am a little more mindful because it is stronger but not so mindful because it's practically free in my books. So I'm hoping that this cold can clear up soon because I would like to get the show on the road with getting some perfume reviews done.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

The Very Early Morning Perfume Shuffle

There are times that I have to be certain places really early in the morning. I'm not talking about 7 in the morning but that is pushing it. I'm talking the 5 in the morning stuff. That means for me that I must be upright, out of bed, conscious and coherent is debatable. It makes perfume choosing pretty hard for me. But I did come up with a solution.

The evening before, I most likely have an idea of what I would like. I do go through phases of wearing the same handful of perfumes and if it is a perfume hat I have dubbed either not work safe or too good to wear to work, I will look to see if I have something in a similar vein. Vintage Bal is not something that I find very work safe. Let's thing about it, there is a whole lot of skank in vintage Bal that would conjure up some not so pleasant things for some. But I find that Shalimar, vintage or not, is a great alternative to vintage Bal. I get enough skank to make me happy and nobody I work with seems to detect the skank in Shalimar. So yes, Shalimar is a safe alternative to vintage Bal. Mitsouko, L'Heure Bleue and most Chanel offerings are safe bets. Cuir de Russie can be questionable half the time and I don't think that it's a very early morning kind of perfume. I think that half of the time, either a decant of vintage Chanel no 5 is in my wristlet or a bottle is in my cardigan pocket.

Since I don't carry a purse to work, a wristlet doubles as a wallet and whatever else I might carry (mascara, lipstick) because I might have made plans after work and I can either refresh what I put on that morning or apply whatever else that I did take with me. But I always carry at least two decants in there because I am always waiting to the last minute to pick something to wear to work. But if I already have two decants in there, I can't exactly go too wrong. But I mostly seem to stick to the classics at work and when they wear off, I am free to apply something else. But two decants already chosen and in my wallet makes things a lot easier when not really conscious and coherent.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Miserable Failure

Well, my New Year's resolutions ended in a miserable failure. My resolution was kind of large. I made a vow not to buy anymore full bottles of anything (even vintage partials) until I finished a full bottle or two of what I have. And what did I do? Make the mistake of going on to E-bay and finding a sealed full bottle of vintage Bal and some vintage Miss Dior. So I made it about mid month to really blow my resolution of no buy. But in a way, I didn't fully blow my resolution. I have been wearing more of Chanel no 5 either in EDP or EDT.

Since my skin is so dry and winter makes it especially dry, I can get away with wearing 3 perfumes over the coarse of a single day. I can wear Shalimar in the morning, Jicky in the afternoon and Chanel no 5 for a bed time scent. But slowly, I am making a little progress and somewhat sticking to my commitment to finish a couple bottles. But in a way, it can be tough going. I'm pretty fickle when it comes to picking out a perfume to wear. It seems like I want to wear just about everything but not enough skin and if I wore everything in my collection I would probably smell horrible. But I'm not really wearing a lot of Amouage. I'm not wearing Amouage for a couple reasons, besides that they are pretty expensive. I view it as that to drain some of my bottles, being able to wear 3 perfumes a day right now, helps me out. And Amouage lasts all day and night and that doesn't really help with my goal of finishing off some of my collection. I still love my Amouge perfumes that I own but they kind of do hinder my collection. I think that once a week, I will wear my Amouage perfumes.