Perfume Sizes and Things I Have Learned

This thought struck me while I was Christmas shopping and looking at the perfume counters. For a purfumista, bigger is not always better in terms of perfume bottles. Before I was a perfumista, bigger was better since I didn't have the collection then that I do now. Thus far, I have accumulated 24 full bottles of perfume in regular rotation and 19 that I am looking at selling or giving away. Some of my full bottles are either 2.5 or 3.4 ounces that will take me a while to finish off. Writing that makes me a little ashamed to have to much perfume full bottle wise. It's always a fleeting feeling when I look at all of my perfume bottles and massive collection of decants. But I have come to prefer smaller bottles of perfume due to the sheer size of my already large collection and it it is easier on my pocketbook.

I have learned that I don't need the matching soap and lotion to some of my perfumes. I am not one of those folks who has one or two signature perfumes and that's it. I like to try out different things and the matching soap and body lotion to any perfume just sits around. Another thing that I have learned is that tastes do change. I used to have an immense dislike for Chanel no. 5 but fast forward to about a year ago, I love Chanel no. 5 and have it in parfum and eau de parfume form. It's alright to have one perfume in various concentrations, I'm looking at you Cuir de Russie and how you've driven me mad with need when you came out in parfum form until I actually bought that half ounce bottle. I have also learned that it's okay to hate a certian perfume after you have tried to love it no matter what concentration it is or vintage (Chanel no. 22). Once in a great while I can afford to get a bottle of Amouage but not on a regular basis or any bottle of expensive perfume.

Chanel no. 19 Poudre EDP Review

When I heard that Chanel was tweaking no. 19, I was slightly horrified like I was with no. 5 eau Premiere. While no. 5 eau Premiere turned out to be a lighter version of the no. 5 I know and love, but no. 19 Poudre is different. My slightly horrified feeling turned into full horror when I tried no. 19 Poudre. It smelled nothing like the no. 19 that I love. Poudre is nothing but powder, powder and more powder with iris laced through it. The no. 19 EDP is a very cold, green rose. It's like a leather corset. It's the type of perfume telling me this too, will pass when things get rough. No. 19 Poudre is a weak in the silage but has staying power. Will I get a bottle? Not in a million years. Will I get another decant? Definitely not. Poudre just turns my stomach in ways that are not good.

Chanel no. 5 eau Premiere Review

I had gotten a sample of Chanel's no. 5 eau Premiere when I bought Chanel's Cuir de Russie in parfum form about a year ago. Naturally, I was hesitant to chose the sample instead of some other sample. The reason is that there was a horrified feeling of tampering with a legend. I had initially tried it and dismissed it as nothing impressive and proceeded to give away my sample. After wearing the originally no. 5 in eau de parfume, I wondered if I had dismissed eau Premiere to readily. Then it was off to the Perfumed Court to get a 1.5ml decant to try. After wearing eau Premiere for two days straight, I'm still not wild about eau Premiere. Eau Premiere is lighter and softer than the original. After wearing Eau Premiere, I did notice that it didn't last as long as any of the Chanels that I have tried and own. It only lasted about 6 hours compared to the 24 hours that I am used to with other Chanels. I did find myself craving the original no. 5 while wearing eau Premiere. Would I get a bottle? No. Decant? Maybe.

Piguet Fracas Review

After separating my growing hoard of decants, separating the reviewed and not reviewed, I found Fracas. I couldn't remember when I got it or if I even wore it. But then it hit me, I wore it the day I got it. I was getting together with a friend to go hiking. Then I wore it again today to refresh my memory. Fracas is a tuberose dominate perfume. The first time around, the creaminess of the whole getup made me gag a little bit and put me off Fracas. The second time around, I am still not liking the creaminess of tuberose. I don't mind and sometimes even like some creaminess of perfumes but Fracas was too much to bear, even in small doses. While I noticed the creaminess and tuberose right off the bat, I got some jasmine peaking out here and there. I don't view Fracas as a bombshell perfume because after one small spray, it's loud. Loud as in Calvin Klien's Obsession type of loud. It's not loud in a crass way but more of an assertive kind of loud. Would I ever get a bottle? No. Would I keep a sample or small decant as a reference? Yes.

Serge Lutens Arabie Review

When I was starting out my foray into perfume, a perfumer's name kept popping up. That name was Serge Lutens. I currently own 4 bottles but it's Arabie's turn to be reviewed today. Before I knew anything about and discovered The Perfumed Court and getting decants, I bought this blind. When my package arrived, I was so excited to tear it open and try it out. At first, I didn't know what to make of Arabie. It was almost a scrubber because it was so strange to my inexperienced nose and it puzzled me to no end. The longer I wore it, the more intrigued I became and I started to love it. I was puzzled because there is the initial blast of cloves and spices and I was very used to smelling straight up florals and fruity florals. After about an hour, the candied fruits do start to subdue the cloves. Arabie is not a soft nor quiet perfume, it's loud so a little does go a long way. Now that it is fall, I find myself craving this scent. I do love Arabie because it is interesting. But I am not sure if I love it enough to always have a bottle on my shelf.

Cellphones

Yesterday, I had renewed my contract with T-Mobile and had ordered new phones for my parents and I. Wirefly.com and the T-Mobile website offer many smart phones and Android phones for free but one must pay for the dumb phones. Needless to say, my mother was none to happy that I had to spend money on two dumb phones. It's not like two years ago that you could get a basic phone for free and had to pay for a smart phone. Now it is hard to find a free dumb phone but easy to find a low cost dumb phone. Five or six years ago, everyone was excited over the Motorola Razr but now it's the Android phones and the iPhone. Cell phone companies seem to be pushing the Android phones and getting rid of the dumb phones. Which makes me believe that in the next two years, there will not be any kind of dumb phone to speak of and my parents will be forced to make a choice. Either get a smart phone, cancel thier cell phone plan and live without cell phones, or get a pay as you go cell phone (if they are still around). I am not opposed to getting an Android phone but I am not thrilled about paying extra for a data plan. But I did want to try out having an Android phone.

Bois 1920 Sushi Imperiale Review

There is a feature on the niche perfume website, The Perfume Shoppe, that does recommend perfume based on your perfume preferences. I had filled out the form in my early days of being a perfume nut and there were three suggestions. One of them was Bois 1920 Sushi Imperiale. I've been debateing on if I should go the decant route or just buy unsniffed. I am happy that I made the decision to get a decant instead of going for a full bottle. It turned to be an odd perfume on me. At first, I thought that I had put on Shalimar but then a shaving cream phase came. Yes, shaving cream laced with Shalimar. It's nice enough but it's a perfume that's trying to be Shalimar but yet not. The staying power is is decent andwears close to the skin.I'll take the Shalimar because I like it better and Shalimar doesn't fade after 6 hours.

Lady Ruth Perfumes and Amouage

I did get a horrific craving to buy a full bottle of perfume and did break down and bought Amouage's Memoir. I didn't go through Luckyscent but through Lady Ruth Perfumes. You can go through the Lady Ruth Perfumes website but she does sell through Amazon. I placed the order on the 18th and my package had arrived today. I almost squealed with joy when I came home from work today to find that it had arrived. Memoir was buried in that packing popcorn stuff and then the box itself was wrapped in bubble wrap. I had forgotten how the Amouage perfumes are packaged and the outer box is beautiful. But what made me audibly squeal was that there were three Amouage samples with my order and one of them was Amouage's newest release, Honour for women. These samples are huge compared to what I am used to getting from Luckyscent and these samples are carded samples. It's just the awesomeness of getting a full botte of perfume after going about 6-8 months without getting a new bottle. I am going to be doing a lot more buisness with ladyruthperfumes.com. But just not yet since I've blown 3 months of my decant/full bottle budget.

Amouage Memoir Review

I have finally gotten around to wearing and now reviewing Amouage Memoir for women. Memoir woman is a modern chypre. I do find that Memoir is in some ways related to Mitsuoko and Jubilation 25. Memoir avoids the dreaded title of old lady perfume that Mitsouko seems to get. Memoir is a sultry chypre but it makes the statement of either go big or go home on me. But on my skin Memoir is by no means a loud perfume. A guy friend of mine who never seems to notice perfume, except when he gets perfume for his mother asked me what I was wearing. He said that it was nice and light. I wouldn't say that any Amouage that I have tried is not exactly what I would call light and airy. Amouage perfumes are heavy on the frankincense. Memoir projects slightly but not so much so that it makes those around you want to run to the hills. Memoir is giving Amouage's Lyris for a run for it's money in terms of full bottle department. In the next two weeks, I should make my final descision to buy a full bottle.

Calvin Klein Obsession for Women EDP

Obsession for women is one of those perfumes that people either love or hate. Yesterday, I had a hankering for Obsession due to the fact that I was reading Janet Fitch's White Oleander. One of the characters, Starr, was Astrid's first foster mother that wore Calvin Klein's Obsession. I do find that Obsession is a very fitting perfume for Starr who was a recovering alcoholic and a stripper that was obsessed with her married boyfriend and who felt threatened by Astrid's presence. I search for my 12 year old Obsession bottle (is that considered vintage?) and spritz some on. It still smells like what I remembered. Obsession is one of those perfumes that I can smell from a mile away and recognize immediately.

Calvin Klein's Obsession was apparently a huge, no, massive hit when it came out in the '80's and still somewhat popular today. Obsession is loud and heavy perfume. It's not to be applied with a heavy hand, so I apply with a very light hand and Obsession lasts all day and all night. I smell a lot of spices that are toned down with vanilla. As time goes on, the creaminess does come out and it softens the vanilla and spices. As I mentioned, there is a great staying power. I would not go recommending this for spring or summer but find this to be a fall or winter scent. I'm not sure that I will buy Obsession again but my 12 year old bottle is mostly full.

Chanel Pour Monsieure EDT

I remember Chanel's Pour Monsieure to be a certain type of EDT. Pour Monsieure brings up a vision of a man who is well groomed, doesn't need Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, dresses in classic men's styles. A man that thinks that the current men's fashions are just out of hand. When learning that Pour Monsieure (not the concentrate) was no longer available in the United States, I had ordered a large decant of it from The Perfumed Court.

But alas, Pour Monsieure is not the EDT that I had remembered. Initially, I thought that there was something was wrong with my nose or the perfume that I was wearing that day was interfering with it. I had asked my mother, who asked me to order it for her, agreed that it's not the same EDT. I am looking at reformulation as the culprit. I do not remember Pour Monsieure smelling more like a toned down Lemon Pledge. I don't remember Pour Monsieure to be very heavy on the citrus. Pour Monsieure is, sadly, a former shadow of what it used to be.

Oh Dear...Broken Decant

I have had a lot of great experiences with The Perfumed Court and always seem to overspend my perfume allowance there. But I must say that I am a little bummed out though. I came home from work today and opened my package from The Perfumed Court. What got my attention was the fact that my package was very fragrant. I've gotten some decants that gave off a slight amount of fragrance. I pulled out the order slip and became very suspicious. The vial was broken and the attar had leaked all over the inside of the package. Every package that I have received from them has always been very carefully packaged and this was no different. Right now, I am giving the USPS the side eye. I have sent the Perfumed Court an e-mail to let them know that my vial has arrived broken. I hope that I won't have to send back the vial. I'm going to see what happens now.

Gap

I do enjoy online shopping very much for various reasons. But I've noticed some things with the Gap store online. Most of the time, I only get one or two shirts (favorite crewneck tees) at a time and it's usually when I get an e-mail of at least 25% or more. One thing that bothers me slightly is the $7.00 shipping unless you are buying $50 or more. Gas prices have gone up and that may account for some of it but Gap uses USPS to ship orders. Yes, Gap uses snail mail to ship stuff. I usually get the favorite tees to wear under my work shirt and when my shift is done, I take my work shirt off.

The second thing that bothers me is the selection of colors of said tees at Gap.com. There are only so many tees that I can own that are black, gray, white, and navy blue. Let's just say it can get old after a while. I'm one to sometimes want to wear a green, orange, yellow or purple shirt. Let's face it, there are those of us who live at least 25 minutes or more from the nearest Gap store or outlet store where can get tees in those colors.

The quality of Gap shirts no matter which one it is has gone down. The material of the shirts has gotten thinner and I want my shirts to last. The past couple times I have gotten shirts from Gap were thin and maybe lasted a cycle or two in the washer before they started to show wear and tear. It's those very little holes in the shirt from only one washing that bother me. I did not buy a shirt to be regulated to the whole just hanging around the house so I'm not so interested what I wear. I must clarify that sometimes some shirts are so thin that the color of my bra are showing and this is especially true of the lighter colored shirts. I'm not one that is fond of wearing camis or tank tops under tee shirts.

Chanel Gardenia EDT review

Chanel's Gardenia EDT was one of the first perfumes that I had bought in the beginning stage of my perfume stage. This was the stage where I was buying perfumes left and right unsniffed solely based on reviews or just sounded interesting. Now, almost three years later and much wiser, I am much more cautious with my full bottle purchases and I have not sprung for a full bottle in 4 months. Enough about that and now onto the review.

Gardenia is part of Chanel's Les Exclusifs line and initially came in a huge 6.8 ounce bottle. I have that huge bottle and had gotten it before Chanel gave a choice of either a 6.8 ounce or 2.5 ounce bottle. Gardenia does smell like many other gardenia dominate perfumes out there. It is nicely done and very much in the Chanel way. I do find that Gardenia smells a little on the thin side and is weak on the depth side. In that respect, during those few weeks not too long ago, that it was 90 degrees out, I was slightly spraying with abandon. This version (EDT) is not overpowering and doesn't last on my skin. Gardenia only lasts about 3 or 4 hours on my skin before disappearing. It is nice for a decant to have for reference but I can't really seem myself buying another full bottle. I am debating if I should get a decant of the pure parfum version to compare the two or not.

Idole by Lubin

It's been a long time since I reviewed a perfume. I'm going through a phase of trying to use up some of my older decants and getting rid of some of my samples. Since I have been on a leather kick that started with Chanel's Cuir de Russie but my tobacco/boozy kick is something new. Dabbing Idole from my sample does nothing for me. I do not get an opinion from dabbing because I really can't smell it. When my decant came in the mail, I immediately sprayed it on and let it develop. I find Idole to be Chanel's Cuir de Russie's 2nd once removed. They are similar but Idole doesn't seem to have the depth that Cuir de Russie has nor is it as complex. I am comparing Cuir de Russie in EDT form due to Idole being an EDT. Idole does have a noticeable boozy note but not quite as boozy as Frapin 1270. But one thing that I did notice as that there isn't much of a tobacco note that I could readily smell. What was noticeable for me was that Idole does have a staying power of 6-7 hours on my EDT eating skin. Idole does seem to stay somewhat close to the skin but I wouldn't go calling it a skin scent. Idole is very decant worthy but I don't find it full bottle worthy no matter how cool the bottle looks (bottle is cool looking).

Andy Tauer Incense Rose Review

I am very slowly working my way of trying all of Andy Tauer's perfumes. Ever since I have gotten on to a little bit of a rose kick and a huge incense kick, I've been interested in trying this. Incense Rose is dry perfume. The rose note is more of a sweet rose in the beginning but becomes a very dry rose when the incense starts to kick in after a half an hour. The incense is extremely dry, prominent and takes center stage as the rose fades into the background. The rose does become somewhat of a background figure and barely stays on the radar. All in all it is a nice perfume. It is decant worthy but not bottle worthy for me.

Serge Lutens A La Nuit Review

Tania Sanchez had reviewed A La Nuit in Perfumes: The A-Z Guide in one line. She had said it was "Death by jasmine". I do have to agree with her. But this one reminds me of Bath and Body Work's now discontinued Midnight Blooming Jasmine. But it is slightly different because I detect a certain waxiness. I do not detect any kind of indole element like I do with Sarrasins. I find that the honey note gives A La Nuit an anchor. I find it to be very pleasant and decant worthy but I'm not in love with it to buy a full bottle.

Chanel no. 22 EDT Vintage Review

I didn't like the huge screechy element of the current version of Chanel's no. 22 and now have tried a vintage version of no. 22. I still don't like no. 22 at all. The vintage version is not as loud and not as screechy. But the vintage version of no. 22 has a very noticeable green note that I am not really fond of. The green note is deeper and more complex but still headache inducing. It looks like Chanel no. 22 is not a Chanel for me.

Amouage Gold Cristal for Women

I was poking around the Perfumed Court looking to see what the price for a decant of Amouage's Gold for women. I didn't come across it but did come across what was Amouage Cristal for women in EDT. I do have a small sample of Amouage Gold for women from Luckyscent and had to bring it out to compare with the decant of Gold Cristal. I find that there is no difference between the two. Gold is similar to Amouage's Dia, but Gold is heavier. I get the same astringent like note from Gold like I do Dia. I actually find it to be pleasant in both. But I find that Gold seems to be a marriage between Dia and Ubar. It's not quite the big floral monster like Ubar but Gold is not a skin scent either. I love Amouage's Gold and find it to be very bottle worthy and would be a welcome addition to my collection.

Amouage Harrods Limited Edition Salalah Green

I do have an unhealthy obsession with Amouage perfumes. While I'm never going to be happy with the price of a full bottle of Amouage, I find them to be worth trying. I do find this to be in the same vein as most of the Amouages. But I find this to be leaning more towards being a heavier version of Reflection for women. Salalah is a green perfume that does not turn out to be screechy after a half an hour of wear. Out of all the Amouages that I have tried Reflection and Salalah have no staying power. After about two hours, I can't smell Salalah on me even though I have I really do like it but there is no staying power and that does disappoint me.

Miller Harris L'Air de Rien

I think I have found my scrubber. Thinking Miller Harris L'Air de Rien would me like Serge Lutens MKK, I decided to try this. Turns out, I do not like this at all. It has an element of old, stale deoderant that gives a hint of sweetness. What really brought out the ugliness of this was the unwashed, damp, dirty underwear. Within 15 minutes, I must wash this off.

Tom Ford Private Blend Tobacco Vanille

After falling in love with L'Artisian Havana Vanille, I decided to try out Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille. Both perfumes are similar to each other but there are differences. In Tobacco Vanille, the vanilla is sweet, almost too sweet, which I do abhor in vanilla dominant perfumes. Sweet and very sweet vanillas do tend to wear me instead of the other way around. The tobacco wears nicely on my skin and the tobacco tries to offset the sweetness of the tobacco but doesn't quite succeed. Havana Vanille was a vegetal vanilla with a rum soaked tobacco. Tobacco Vanille is a loud perfume and gets even louder in warm weather. I find Tobacco Vanille to be likeable but not something I would have on a regular basis even in decant form.

Guerlain Shalimar Perfume Review

After testing out Guerlain's Shalimar out a few times, I am finally doing a review on it. Well, I have been wearing this off and during winter an when I tried Jicky, I needed to refresh my memory of Shalimar. Starting out, I get a mild blast of citrus, not the huge blast that I got with Jicky. I like how the citrus was muted because citrus and I don't always get along. I get a dry down of an oriental vanilla. The vanilla is not the sickly sweet type that seems to permeate many perfumes now, but the vanilla is sweet. It's a sensual vanilla complimented with spices. I am not in love with Shalimar, but I do like it. I am not a big fan of sweet vanillas, I like my vanillas to be more earthy. Sillage and staying power are good. I find this to be decant worthy but not full bottle worthy for me.

Chanel no. 22 EDT Review

I ordered a fairly large 15 ml decant of Chanel no. 22 EDT from the Les Exclusifs line. I read up on the notes and reviews and thought that no. 22 would be something I would like. I was wrong, I don't like it. Much of no. 22 is a characteristic Chanel but it is very green smelling. It's the type of green that churns my stomach and a headache sets in. Then the powdery dry down sets in and put no. 22 in the migraine category. No. 22 smells like it is unfinished in many ways. The green element is screechy and seemingly crude. This is the first Chanel that I have disliked right off the bat since I have become a perfume fanatic.

L'Artisian Voleur de Roses Review

I have been one a little bit of a rose kick and I am wearing L'Artisian Voleur de Roses. Voleur de Roses is not your typical rose scent. It's an earthy rose. What keeps popping into my head is a certain part in the book Anne of Avonlea where Anne and her friends find Hester Grey's lost garden and the book The Secret Garden. But what happens is that I find a lost, dead garden. A completely dead garden. Then, as soon as it starts to rain, the garden only partially comes back to life in the form of roses. Like most of L'Artisian scents, they are eau de toilette and that does prevent me from testing a lot of thier scents. Eau de toilette is difficult for me. Part of it is having dry skin no matter what time of year it is and eau de toilette does have the tendancy to go a little sour on me. Voleur de Roses lasts a surprising 5 hours on my skin. In the last hour, it does begin to go sour but Voleur de Roses disapears on my skin. I have a huge 3.4 ounce bottle of it that is slowly getting used. I am still undecided on if I like it or not.

Worth Courtesan

I stumbled upon Worth's Courtesan on the Perfumed Court looking for skanky perfumes. Courtesan is supposed to be a skanky perfume but I am not getting any kind of skank. Initially, I was wary of getting a sample because a lot of notes listed are fruit notes. After wearing Courtesan for a few hours, I get flowers with a hint of fruit. Courtesan is a sweet, skin scent with a weak note of seduction. It's nice and likable but it is a perfume in transition. Courtesan seems to be trying to go from being a fruity floral mess to something very seductive, a real woman's perfume. The Perfumed Court is the only place I can find Courtesan without going on Ebay. Ebay just scares me and that would be another post. Staying power is good and sillage is minimal. I probably won't get another 1.5 ml or any decant once I finish this one. It's pleasant but it doesn't move me in any way to the point of where I have to get another decant or take the plunge into Ebay.

Frapin Passion Boisee Review

Frapin is a house that seems to be hit or miss for the most part on me. I love Frapin's 1270 for it's warm booziness and have a mild dislike of Espirit de Fluers for it's weird ability to make me queasy. Then I tried Passion Boisee. I like it but I don't love it. Even though it is pegged for men, I find it to be wearable on a woman. Passion Boisee reminds me of Chanel's Sycomore with out the smokey quality to it. But I do get a distinct cedar chips. Cedar chips as in the type that people use for hamster cages. What reins in the cedar, before it runs away, is cloves. I find it to be a surprising airy scent for something that is so woody. I am not getting a leather note at all with this and I love leather. Leather as in a well made and well used saddle not suede. As I have said, it's likeable but not something I would reach for when I am craving a man's scent.

Chanel no. 5 Parfum Review

It has taken me a while to warm up to Chanel no. 5.When I first tried it at the age of 23, I disliked it immensely. I did try it in a department store and I used the lotion. The reason why I didn't like it at the time is because I was used to flowery perfumes and my nose wasn't too developed. Then, a few years later, I took the plunge to try no. 5 again but in parfum form. I simply cannot be without the parfum form of no. 5. I love Chanel no. 5 in eau de parfum but I am madly in love with no. 5 in it's parfum form. I find it to be deeper and richer than any other version. In pure parfum form, the aldehydes still fizz and sparkle but no. 5 pure parfum has more of a floral element that I haven't really noticed (or paid attention) until now. I do enjoy having the flowers out a little more but I do have a strong love of aldehydes and the flowers give them a boost and compliment the aldehydes. I don't consider Chanel no. 5 to be a bombshell fragrance. No. 5 is not meant to seduce the other sex, in my opinion. I consider it a perfume for a bookworm or those lounging around the house with a fire going.

Guerlain Jicky Perfume Review

For the first time, I have tried Guerlain Jicky. When I was wearing Jicky, I kept wondering if I have put on Guerlain's Shalimar by mistake. Jicky ans Shalimar both open with a blast of citrus but Jicky seems to keep a heavy citrus element the whole way through. There is something not quite civilized in Jicky, I wouldn't go and call it animalistic but a perfume that is not so refined in manners. I find Jicky to be more of on the unisex end of feminine. Could a guy wear this? Yes, but I find Jicky not quite me for some reason. I do not mind the big citrus note in Jicky, but I do get a big shaving cream note that kind of turns me off. I will probably keep my decant of Jicky just for reference purposes and won't end up wearing it too often.

Serge Lutens Sarrasins Review

I have been trying to find a way to describe Serge Lutens Sarrasins. Supposedly, it is supposed to be a jasmine dominant perfume. I find it to be a waxy. Imagine lighting a wax candle and then smelling the melted candle wax with a hint of jasmine. I do detect a slight dirtiness but that fades in 10 minutes. It's not bad by any means, I am just not used to smelling wax in my perfume. I like Sarrasins, but I don't love it. I find the staying power from Sarrasins is weak, very weak. Sarrasins only lasts about 2 or 3 hours on my skin and it wears very close to the skin.

What attracted me to Sarrasins what the unusual purple color and I do have a liking for jasmine in perfume. Sarrasins is even more of a rich purple color in person than what I see online. I am having a hard time getting over a perfume so intensly colored to be so weakin staying power and sillage.

Amouage Jubilation 25 for Women Review

Since I started getting into decants, I had ordered a spray decant of Jubilation 25. Yesterday, I decided to test drive Jubilation 25. It was a warm, muggy day and when I first put it on, I initially thought that I had put on Mitsouko by mistake. All day yesterday I kept thinking that I did put on Mitsouko but I was like, no, you didn't reach for a bottle, you reached for a decant. On the website, Now Smell This, it is described as a fruity chypre. I agree with the chypre part but I disagree with the fruity part of Jubilation 25. I get more of a flowery chypre. I must be graduating from the beginning phase to the intermediate stage of being a perfumista. I still am not sure if I like chypre perfumes, but it took me a while to really like or love aldehdes. The sillage and staying power of Jubilation 25 like most if not all Amouages is really good. But every Amouage is really expensive, so my bank account is sighing in relief with this one. I don't hate it, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Victoria's Secret Dream Angels Heavenly Review

One of my perfume guilty pleasures is loving Victoria's Secret Dream Angels Heavenly. After normally spending $125 and up for perfumes, it's cheap. Not quite drugstore cheap, but it's not expensive. I find it to be the non-fruity type of perfume geared at teens and women in their early to mid 20's. I get a lot of white musk and sandalwood. Sillage and staying power are good, so I am not applying throughout the day. But it does seem like a lot of teens and many of my coworkers wear Heavenly so I've regulated it to my lazy day perfume.

Amouage Ubar Review

There is nothing crass nor crude about Amouage perfumes that I have smelled thus far. The only Amouage that I have tried that I didn't enjoy was Reflection for women.

Amouage Ubar is a loud floral. It doesn't scream cheap and badly made but there are many badly made expensive perumes. Ubar is a well built perfume and if one is not looking, it will wear you, like many Amouages. When I initially applied Ubar, I got a bug spray smell. The bug spray element threw me a little bit and I hoped that it wouldn't be another Coco Madamoiselle. Coco Mademoiselle is straight up bug spray from top to bottom for me. When the bug spray element passed, for the most part, I got a very rich floral that was a little on the dirty side. Ubar is not you typical floral/oriental. It's not quiet, it's not so clean as many florals seem to be. In the dry down, I get a little bit of an animalistic touch but not a whole lot. I do find it to be bottle worthy and until I have enough pennies saved up, I will be hoarding my decant.

Kat Von D Painted Love Lipstick

Poking around Sephora.com for a new lipstick, I came across Kat Von D's Painted Love lipstick. I ordered one of her lipsticks in Hellbent which is a blood red. I had a strong desire to explore red lipstick before because it has always scared me. Over the past two days, I have been testing it and I can honestly say that I find lip gloss easier to apply than this brand of lipstick. Kat Von D's lipstick is on the dry side compared to my other lipsticks. I do find that the Painted Love lipstick does have the tendency to stain my lips even if I do use lip balm under lipstick. I've never encountered this in a lipstick before. I do find that there is no sheen with the Hellbent but that doesn't bother me. I am undecided if I like this brand of lipstick but I think I am going to check out Kat Von D's lip gloss and see if those are any better.

Chanel Cuir de Russie Parfum

I have just recently received my Chanel Cuir de Russie in parfum form. I had initially balked at paying $160 for 50ml but quickly realized that it is not eau de toilette or eau de parfum. I find that the parfum version is much more complex than the eau de toilette that I own as well. There is more depth with the parfum version than the eau de toilette. I was very careful applying this version of Cuir de Russie due to the power of parfum. I did have a bit of an issue with the staying power of the parfum but during the summer, that is not unusual for me. I don't know why my skin eats perfume in the summer more than any other time of year. I find myself enjoying the parfum version much more than the eau de toilette. Cuir de Russie is the closest thing I have to a signature scent but there are too many perfumes that I want to try and a few full bottle wants that prevent me from always having $160 on hand to keep myself in steady supply of Cuir de Russie.

Andy Tauer Une Rose Vermeille Review

Andy Tauer's Une Rose Vermeille is an impulse buy from 4 months ago. Just before my wanting decants instead of full bottles of anything. I find it to be more of on the fruity floral side than on the floral side. It's a nice enough perfume but I'm not wild on the fruity aspect on it. I've never been wild for fruity floral perfumes. They just don't speak to me like a leather or tobacco perfume does. I'm not wild about the whole perfume is because I am not getting any kind of rose and I do love rose in my perfumes. I have to really dig for the rose note in this. On perfumes than are not fruity, I don't mind it so much, but when a perfume is fruity, I do mind. Maybe I am just weary of this fruity floral idea phase that has gone on too long with perfumers. The sillage is nice enough and staying power is 7-8 hours. The bottle is interesting though. I am a little bit of a glass junkie and I kind of like the concept of glass beads in perfume bottles. A few have mentioned that it takes away from getting more perfume. It's gotten to the point for me where I want less not more. Some for economical reasons, some for space reasons.

Serge Lutens Muscs Koublai Khan Review

For the longest time, I have been afraid of any perfume that has been described as animalistic and or skanky. Reason being that I don't want to smell like I haven't taken a bath in a few days. I have read a lot of mixed reviews of Serge Lutens's Muscs Koublai Khan. Some said that there was a huge fecal note or barn yard element. After ditching some of my fear, I ordered a 2.5 ml decant from The Perfumed Court. And for the past 2 weeks, I've been afraid of trying it out. But yesterday afternoon, I was in a mad dash to meet a friend, so this was the first thing I grabbed and sprayed on. I don't find it to be dirty or animalistic. I find it to be more of a sensual perfume. Sensual as in one is not afraid of being a sensual person. I find that MKK is a little dirty because it doesn't fit into the mold of squeaky-clean category.

MKK is kind of a mellow perfume that doesn't really announce itself, someone has to be close to you to really smell MKK. I was a little disappointed in they staying power of MKK because after 5 hours, I couldn't smell it on myself. I kind of expect that out of an eau de toilette but not an eau de parfum. Is it full bottle worthy for me? I find it decant worthy so far, but I am undecided on if it truly is bottle worthy.

Chanel no 19 Perfume Review

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

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

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

Frapin Esprit de Fleurs Review

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

My drive of less bottles

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

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

Amouage Lyric for Women Review

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

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

Sampler scents

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

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

Citrus note and writer's block

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

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

Tocca Giulietta Review

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

Chanel Cuir de Russie eau de toilette

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

Why I am not fond of eau de toilette

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

Bvlgari Pour Femme review

I'm not sure why I have not gotten to this perfume that has been sitting on my dresser for a year. I had gotten a 3.4 ounce bottle as a gift. For the past couple days, Bvlgari Pour Femme has been begging me to wear it and review it. On my skin, it's powdery, very powdery. Almost to the point of getting into the dreaded "old lady" category. I do get jasmine in this but I am not wild about a powdery jasmine. I do like my jasmine to be a little on the skanky side. I am not detecting any kind of rose or anything else. Pour Femme is nice enough but a little standoffish on my skin. I've noticed a certian heaviness with wearing Pour Femme. I wouldn't exactly call this a summer scent but more of a mid to later spring. Sillage is minimal and the staying power is very good (lasts 7-8 hours on my skin). I don't find it to be a perfume that I am going to wear very often. I think it will be something I have to be in a mood for.

Amouage Reflection review

I tried out my sample of Amouage's Reflection yesterday. Initially, I liked it but now, I am unimpressed with it. I do like freesia in perfume and this was the dominant note that did seem to drown every other note in the perfume out. Reflection kind of does wear close to the skin, but doesn't seem to last on skin. Within two hours, I couldn't detect the perfume on my skin. That annoyed me a little bit. The reason why I was annoyed is because I wanted to know how Reflection would develop beyond a watery freesia. Would I buy Reflection? No, there are many other really good watery freesia perfumes that are not $235. Would I get a decant? Maybe.

Havana Vanille aka Vanille Absolument

I have finally found a vanilla perfume that I love. Not barely tolerate, not like, but actually love. Most vanilla perfumes have this cupcake smell to them that I cannot stand. Havana Vanille is an earthy, sweet vanilla. I get a huge rum note from Havana Vanille that gives it the sweetness factor and I usually dislike sweet perfumes (I'm picky). What makes me really love the sweetness the tobacco. I think that the tobacco keeps it from becoming too sweet and unwearable. I have not tried this in warmer weather or when it is hot outside but it seems to be something that can be worn year round. Longitivity is pretty decent and wears close to the skin.

Vera Wang Sheer Veil

This time of year, I am a little sick of my amber/oriental scents since it has been a very long and cold winter. Since it has been warm, I have been wearing Vera Wang's Sheer Veil. It is floral overload. What attracted me to this perfume is the gardenia. I love gardenia in perfume and I only get a very tiny hint of it. Sheer Veil is a perfume that does have staying power on my skin but silage is another matter. It is a strong perfume, so I only have to use a tiny bit. I am not overly keen on it because it is a straight up floral perfume. It's more for the late spring or early summer before the really hot part of summer sets in. Just like the Vera Wang by Vera Wang (women's version), it is in a simple bottle. I think that Vera Wang doing what Chanel did with perfume bottles, make it a simple, yet eye catching bottle. But that doesn't trick me into buying perfume, I want to smell the perfume, I don't care about the bottle and how flashy it is.
But it's not really me. After my bottle is gone, will I get another bottle of it? Probably not but wouldn't really care if it fell into my lap. I would probably give it away or trade it for another perfume.

Finally found a really good vanilla perfume

Well, I have found a vanilla dominant perfume that is bottle worthy. I am not one for a perfume that is vanilla dominant. I broke down and bought Havana Vanille from L'Artisian. Havana Vanille is now going under the name of Vanille Absolument. I ordered the 1.7 ounce perfume from Amazon.com and used my $25 giftcard. I ordered a sample of it and dabbed it on my wrist and it isn't one of those cupcake like smelling vanilla perfumes which I dislike. I will review this when I get my bottle and spray it on. To my nose, dabbing a perfume can smell completely different than a sprayed perfume.

Amouge Dia review

I have been wearing Amouage's Dia for the past few days and decided to review it. Needless to say, I am blown away by this scent. I'm having trouble finding the words to describe it adequately. There is a fizzines element going on with the aldehydes that I love to no end. The silage is not overbearing and wears close to the skin. Dia meant for an early spring scent. Just when it starts to get warmer when you start going into spring but not a summer scent when the temperature is hitting 80 degrees or more.

In this economy...

I've had to change a few things. Okay, I've had to cut back on certian things. My make up routine had to change. I used to wear foundation, but not anymore. I ran out of foundation a year ago and just don't have the extra funds to keep buying it. I simply can't justify the need to replace my foundation every 2 months. I have had to forgo the wearing of eyeshadow everyday. I'm down to 2 eyeshadows and 1 of them is on it's last hurrah. My makeup routine was pretty simple but as the cost of just about everything went up, I really realized that how fast the little things added up. It's always the $5 here the $10 there that can make the difference. Perfume is a little different for me. A 1 ounce perfume can last me for a good year or more, but I have plenty of perfumes to use up.

I cut out a lot of my cell phone extras. I dropped my text message package. I used to pay an extra $4.99 for 400 messages. A good most of my friends either disabled the texting feature on thier cell phones or just stopped texting altogether. So there isn't much of a need for a text message package to keep it. I have switched to a cheaper plan because I use nowhere near the 1,500 minutes a month that I am allotted. I am lucky if I even hit 400 minutes a month so 700 minutes is a better deal.

Groceries is another big thing. I really have to look at the grocery store fliers that come in the mail and look them over. I've had to make decisions on what do I really need and how much do I have to spend on 2 weeks worth of groceries. Coupons have helped me out tremendously. If it is something I eat on a regular basis and on sale, it's good. A great thing is when I can use a coupon on top of it. I freeze a lot of my meats (roasts, chicken thighs, etc) when there is a phenominal deal because meat has really gotten expensive. I have gone the generic brand food instead of name brand food. I haven't noticed the difference between generic brand macarooni and cheese and the Kraft version.

I've combined and eliminated some of my errands. Since I live in a rural area that doesn't have a bus service like the RTA, I have to be careful with gas. The price of gas fluctuats so much that I've had to combine trips and think about how vital is something before I head out.

By changing just a few things and over the course of a year, I have been able to save myself almost $800. I am working on scaling back a few more things. Stay tuned for that.

Purses

Lately, I have been observing women and noticed their purses. I'm not looking to rob anyone, but I have been looking at purses. It has gotten me to wonder on why so many women insist on carrying a huge purse. These purses are so big that they almost resemble suitcases or dufflebags. When I was a broke student going to a community college, my messenger had to double over as a purse since all the money that I made went to my tuition and books. So there wasn't money leftover to go and get a purse. I have observed that many women carry Coach purses. A Coach factory outlet store is no more than 20 minutes from where I live so it is natural for many women to get a purse from the Coach factory outlet. Then I have to beg the question of why did you go to Coach? There is a K-Mart, Kohl's department store, Target, and Walmart stores that are much closer and not to mention cheaper. I have seen the purse selection at K-Mart, Target, Kohl's, and Walmart. And sadly, the selection sucks. The selection sucks on so many levels. The quality of the purses are not worth the price. I am not paying $20-100 on a purse that may last only 2 or 3 months. I want a quality purse that is going to last me for a few years.

In the past few months, I have looked at my Coach outlet store and their selection isn't that great anymore. It just seems like in the past 4 years that the selection has gone way down. Maybe the economy has something to do with it or maybe because of where the outlet mall is located (in a semi-rural area). But every time I've set foot in there, it's full of people who are buying purses by the truckload.

The Coach stores that are not outlets are totally different. They do not seem to be as crowded as the outlet stores so it is easier to find an employee if you need help. I find that the selection is better than the outlet stores. I find that the layout of the stores and the employees a lot more agreeable to me than the outlet stores. The quality of the purses seem to be a lot better than the outlet stores. I view it as if I am going to sink $200 or more on a purse, there better be some phenomenal quality to the bag.

Luckyscent.com or Amazon.com?

I am facing a shopping dilemma for my next perfume purchase. It is were am I going to get my next perfume. I have noticed that Amazon.com's prices are really no better than luckscent.com's. Not even with shipping. What I do really like with luckyscent is the 3 free sample deal with a full bottle perfume purchase. That allows me to try new perfumes that I normally wouldn't have remembered or even considered trying. What does draw me to Amazon is that I have a $25 gift certificate sitting in my account with nothing going on and what my American Express rewards points are saying. Ever since American Express teamed up with Amazon.com on using reward points to pay for purchases, it makes the temptation to buy a new perfume even worse, even though I am no closer to deciding which perfume I am going to get next. What I don't really like about luckyscent's sample program is that they don't give too many samples that are spray bottle samples. Dabbing a perfume on me does not give me a clear picture of the perfume in question. I just get a vague idea of what something smells like on my skin. I want a clear cut idea on what something smells like on my skin. I know one thing though, I am leaning to getting my next Amouage perfume from Amazon using my rewards and maybe a little later getting another, less expensive perfume from luckyscent. I am a perfume fanatic and love my perfumes where it is an obsession. But I choose my perfumes with a little more care now. The reason being is that I have bought perfumes that are going to sit around. I don't hate them but I am not wild enough about them to use them on a consistant basis to use up the bottle.

I don't have a signature scent

I am one of those people who do not have a signature scent. I know a few people that stick to one or two scents and never deviate from them. There are too many perfumes out there to try and review. Do I have a few perfumes that I use more often than others? Yes, but they are no where near "signature" scents. I go through periods where I love certain scents and wear them quite often then it maybe another 2 or 3 that I wear quite often. My grandmother is one person that is loyal to one perfume and doesn't understand my collection of full bottles of perfumes and samples. I do have the tendency to get bored easily with perfume and do prefer a selection of perfumes to choose from. My samples are the try before you buy sort of thing. I have found a few that are bottle worthy but I need to save up some money and decide on which one to get first. My mother is the same way as my grand mother but she has a very small handful of perfumes to choose from. But I am a maximalist that is always on the prowl for something new or interesting.

Vera Wang for her

Today's review is Vera Wang for her. This is one of the few truly floral perfumes that I like. It's bordering on love. What attracted me initially to the perfume was the cala lilly and gardenia. I can't make out either note nor the rose that is listed. I find it to be a well blended perfume ment to be worn during spring. I think it is a heavy floral too heavy to be worn during summer especially when it is 90 degrees out. The reason why I recommend spring is because that time of year where it is warming up but still cool. Would I buy this again when my bottle runs out? Probably not but I wouldn't mind it if someone gave this to me as a gift. I must admit that while it smells good on me, it smells better on my mother. Now she is asking for her own bottle for Mother's Day or her birthday.

Everywhere I look

Just about everywhere I look, I seem grown women and teenagers with layer upon layer of makeup and glitter. I don't wear a lot of makeup myself and it makes me raise an eyebrow. I normally just wear mascara and lip gloss or lip stick depending on which I grab first thing in the morning. I only wear makeup to work and really nowhere else. Putting on those things take a couple minutes at most. If I am feeling ambitious, I will smudge on a little bit of eyeshadow but that's it. I don't bother with concealer or foundation unless I have a huge pimple. I view it as I am not here to impress anyone with my looks. To me, wearing mascara and lip gloss makes the statement of that I do give a crap on how I look but I am not going to spend a half an hour or more piling on more makeup. My main statement is perfume. But perfume does not replace regular bathing as some would like to think so. But I never understood why so many decide to wear tons of makeup and for what reason? Why have eyeshadow in every conceivable color?

About to jump into getting decants

After kicking around the idea of getting decants, I've decided that I am going to try it. There is one or two Serge Lutens's scents that are from his non-export line that I have been dying to try but didn't know how to get my hands on. That was until I learned of decants from the Perfume Shrine blog and a few other blogs. One of my biggest things is trying to find a reputable site to get decants. I don't want to put my hard earned cash as risk. It doesn't mean that I won't spring for one of the Amouage perfumes that I've been wanting. I'm still no closer to deciding which one that I want. The only one that I have added was Amouage Ubar to the possibility. It always boils down to my paycheck.

The anti-review

Chanel no. 5 has been reviewed to the point of nausea so I won't review it. But why is it in my perfume collection? For me, no. 5 is the go to perfume if I don't know what to wear on any given day or don't want to spend too much time or thought on what perfume I am going to wear. It's my perfume of last resort that is what I consider classy and doesn't fall into the 'blah' catagory. I have a few bottles that are just sitting on my dresser and probably have not used them in about a year. I find it to be a perfume that can be worn year round and don't have to reapply throughout the day. Chanel no. 5 serves it's purpose as a perfume that can be dressed up or down like a rope of pearls.

Frapin 1270 and Serge Lutens Daim Blond review

My odyssey with my Frapin 1270 began the day after Thanksgiving. I had ordered my bottle of Frapin 1270 from The Perfume Shoppe. After about a week and a half, I noticed that I had not received my order yet or even an email saying that it was shipped. I did initially figure that with the holidays that it may be taking a little longer than usual especially since they are located in Canada. Then after about two weeks, I received a phone call saying that there was a mix up and that they didn't receive the Frapin in their order and they did have a bottle of it but it was not in a box. I said that was okay and it was shipped to me. I'm probably going to have to think twice before I order anything that is not located in the US due to the fact that I would have to be home to sign for the package. With my wacky work schedule and living in a rural area, it's not practical and kind of a hassle to sign for something.

Now on to the review. It's going to be a side by side review. When I first sprayed Frapin 1270, I thought I grabbed the wrong bottle. Frapin 1270, to me, smells almost identical to Serge Lutens Daim Blond. But Frapin is more candied fruit than Daim Blond. Both contain leather but I can't smell leather in Frapin 1270. Frapin 1270 is a spicy, candied fruit deal. I've never been fond of fruity perfumes but this one works on my skin probably because of the spiciness of it. I did note with the Frapin 1270 that there was a boozie smell to it. It was very prevailent in the beginning but did calm down during the dry down but remained throughout.

Serge Lutens's Daim Blond is very similar but very different. I found it to be very linear on my skin. I had a very prevalent apricot smell with a hint of leather. It has been a while since I have worn it.

I find ultimatly that the Daim Blond is the prim and proper sister to Frapin 1270 were Frapin 1270 is the boozy sister that can never quite seem to sober up. Daim Blond is more for daytime/office. Frapin 1270 is more for a night on the town (not like that will stop me from wearing it to work).

Frapin 1270 has found a permanant place in my rotatation of frequently worn perfumes while Daim Blond is more or less regulated to languish on my dresser top to be passed over. After I finish my Daim Blond, I most likely won't be getting another bottle. After my bottle of Frapin 1270 is finished, I will be getting another bottle even though it is on the pricey side.

Valentine's Day and random perfume stuff

It may be Valentine's Day here but I'm not interested in that. It maybe a another holiday of more often than not, tacky or bad gifts, candy, and fancy meals. Somebody asked me on how do I pick out a perfume I am going to wear on any particular day. I tell them flat out that I wear perfume to please me. I don't wear it to please anyone else. I take into account on what season it is. I don't want to be suffocating under Calvin Klien's Obsession in the middle of July when it is 90 degrees out and the humidity is unreal, so I am going to pick something a little lighter. Most of it depends on my mood and what I do have a taste for. A lot of the time I have it narrowed to 3 or 4 perfumes. I'm not interested in what the people around me think of my perume choices. I am wearing this for me. I'm tired of the Coco Mademoiselle and anything that is popular at the moment ad nauseam. I firmly believe that perfume should not be used to disguise bad body odor and poor bathing habits. We live in the 21st century and many of us have access to running water and the ability to bathe. I went to school with a person who had bad bathing habits and would cover it up with cologne. He was told by teachers and students alike that baths were needed. He was in two of my classes and every single time my asthma would act up. I mentioned it to his teacher's aid that his bad BO was the cause of my asthma acting up. Her response was that he had a disability and I had to deal with it. My retort was he has full use of his 2 arms and legs and knows how to bathe and I was not going to buy that excuse. He knows he stinks and is using the disability ticket to break social norms by not bathing. I also made the comment of I was not willing to earn a stay in the hospital due to such stupidity from both thier parts. I'm happy to say that my asthma is very well controlled. I can't find any good excuse for bad BO or refusing to have good hygiene and then trying to cover that up. Perfume and cologne in this day and age are not ment to be used like that.

I believe I have become jaded

I really do believe that I have become jaded with my perfume choices. I have become the type that is not keen on mainstream perfumes. What I consider mainstream is Chanel, Calvin Klein or anything that you can easily get in department stores. Most perfumes in department stores are starting to smell alike and I am having a hard time wearing any of them. Maybe it is because I am 28 and there are not too many perfumes that are geared for people in thier late 20's and early 30's. I am not of a certian demographic to teens and early 20's were there is a market for fruity florals or mid 30's and up where there way too strong or isn't quite my style.The new perfumes now just seem to be made from the same cookie cutter. It may have been that way for many years but since I have really started to pay attention to perfume, they all seem to smell alike. Nothing in the mainstream that is new is grabbing my attention to ask. There are some popular perfumes in my perfume collection stable. Some of them I am not fond of, some I love to no end. Chanel no 19 is one example. I cannot cuss Chanel out for issueing out no 19 in perfume form this past winter because it is divine. I have mentioned before, I don't go for eau de toilette versions because they fade so fast on my skin and they have the tendancy to smell like a chemically treated pile of mulch that stinks like it is about to go out of fashion. I hope Chanel decides to make the eau de parfum version a permanant thing and not make it so it may come out once a year or every couple years. Vera Wang's Sheer Veil is another one that I love that is a mainstream. It doesn't evolve into a fruity mess or any kind of mess on my skin.

Okay, Amouage, you have created a real monster

I have stumbled on the Amouage perfume line and already bought two of them. I have Epic for women and Dia for women and love them. I will review those later on. But Amouage has really made me a monster. I am trying to decide on which one that I am going to purchase in the next 2 or 3 months. The samples I have (all womens versions) Gold, Lyric, and Jubilation 25. The Gold initialy as a fancier Chanel #5. I have yet to try Gold and Jubilation on skin. I get a lot of rose on my skin with Lyric. Rose more often than not, smells like raw sewage on my skin but with Lyric, it goes on beautifully. Even though I'm still learning how to read notes with my nose, certian notes are distinct to me and rose is one I can smell a mile off. From what I have smelled with Amouage, I smell quality and a company that isn't interested in being trendy. What does get me is that Amouage perfumes are not cheap at all. The cheapest Amouage perfume for women that I have seen is Reflection and a 1.7 ounce bottle is $235. The notes for Reflection do not excite me in any way but the bottle itself is eye catching. I would and do spend money on quality. My bank account is not going to let me head off to Luckyscent.com and buy anything. But I am off to try Gold and Jubilation 25 to make a descision and hopefully see which one of the three that I love the best. I have tried some of Serge Luten's perfumes and Arabie is the only one that I can say that I like/love depending on the day and my mood.

Kenzo Indigo Perfume review

Kenzo Indigo was an unsniffed impulse perchase from a year ago and I have gotten around to wearing it. Needless to say after a couple days wear, I am unimpressed. The reason being is that it smells like a generic drugstore perfume. It doesn't develop into anything on my skin. Indigo just sits on my skin and does nothing. That is something that I don't like in a perfume, when it's linear and justs sits. Maybe I have gotten jaded in the past two and half years due to reading perfume blogs. Maybe my tastes have changed I have gotten more selective with my choices. The bottle itself is pretty interesting but I am not willing to buy the men's version just because it completes the look that Kenzo was going for bottle wise.

I've already blown one of my New Year's resolution

I have already blown my New Year's resolution about perfume. I made the resolution to not buy anymore perfume until I use up at least 4 of my many 1.7 ounce perfumes. But this past year I've added 8 new perfumes to the mix. I am thinking of giving a few of them away. My sister is coming into town at the end of march and I am going to see if there is something that she likes enough to take with her. Right now, it's probably a good thing that my bank account is hating me at the moment because it will be a while before I will be able buy some samples from luckyscent.com let alone a full bottle of anything. I think that my dresser top will be thankful and there will be more room but quickly filled.

Online shopping Part 1

I love online shopping, I really do. I can shop day or night, I don't have to bother with making myself look presentable, I don't have to get into my car and drive anywhere. But I have to admit, the online shopping scene has really changed. And not really for the better. A little bit before the recession here in America, I did notice some changes. I've mainly shopped at Amazon.com for many years and prices went up a little bit but didn't give it much thought. What Amazon was doing was doing some kind of quiz thing and for every question you got right, you got a nickle off and it did add up especially if you stock piled the rewards. I can't remember exactly how it went but they have not done it in many years. Fast forward about 2 or 3 years, prices have gone up with Amazon quite a bit. Especially in the past year. Or course the prices of many things have gone up but this is getting out of hand. I've picked Amazon because it used to be my go to shopping website and probably one of the most recognizeable. I think it is because Amazon has gotten so huge as a company and the market has changed. On Amazon, I didn't see as many products that are being sold by other companies through Amazon. One of the things that I have really liked with Amazon was free shipping for orders over $25 if it is sold by Amazon. The Prime membership that they have has become a real hassle and I decided to drop it. My reasoning is why pay $75 a year when most of the stuff is sold by other companies are charging shipping and I can't get the free 2 day shipping that I'm paying $75 a year for? The sales and deals with Amazon are getting worse and worse. Why are they recommending that I buy something that I am not going to use? And they know I won't. What am I going to do with another set of soup bowls? I have 15 one of my kitchen cabinets. I am also finding less selection on Amazon than previous years. I used to find just about everything now, I do have totry and find it elsewhere. Part 2 will be posted a little later.

Chanel Sycomore

After a long break from wearing Chanel's Sycomore, I decided to wear it yesterday. It's part of Chanel's Les Exclusifs line. I am not one to wear an eau de toilette because on my skin, there is no staying power. But this one does have have staying power with this one and some really good sillage with this one that doesn't overpower and makes everyone sick. But it is a strong smelling eau de toilette so it can't be spritzed with wild abandon. Even though it is listed as a women's scent, I list it as a more of a unisex scent bordering on the masculine side. Sycomore has a deep, woody smell and I can make out a faint hint of incense. I love my vetiver scents in the fall where I know it is going to stay cool and it's wonderful in the winter time. I find it to be a comfort scent when the snow is falling and there is a crackeling fire going.

Method to my madness

On an online forum that I belong to someone asked me about my perfume shopping habiits. Do I buy a perfume by how the bottle looks? Color of the perfume in the bottle? And the questions go on.

I mainly have niche scents so I can't exactly go to the nearest mall and smell them. I tripped over the websiteluckyscent.com a year ago and it is where I get a lot of my niche scents. What is great about lucky scent is that they have samples. Granted these samples are $3(USD) and up but they are little vials of perfume and you can try them before commiting to a full bottle. I don't want to commit $100 or more on a full bottle of perfume that I am going to hate and that will sit on my dresser for 10years or more.

I am not interested what color the perfume is in the bottle. The odds I run is that the bottle itself may be tinted or I am not able to see what color the perfume is. I simply don't care about that. Like my Amouage Epic perfume, the glass bottle is green so I have no clue on what the color of the juice is. I am interested in how it smells on me.

Does the bottle interest me? It may be eyecatching and make me look at it but it does play a role. I have some perfumes that are in interesting looking bottles (Kenzo Flower). But an interesting bottle does not make for a good or great smelling perfume. Some of my favorite perfumes are in some pretty plain looking bottles. Plain bottles are not a bad thing but it is a great thing when you are packing to go on a trip. I make sure that some of my perfumes can easily be packed into my carry on bag.

The size of the bottle matters. Does it come in different sizes? If they do, what are those sizes? Some perfumes come in only one size. One size fits all does not always suit for everybody. For those loyal to one or two perfumes and never travel, it's perfectly fine. For someone like me who does travel from time to time, it does matter. With travel restrictions when you fly, the limit it 3 ounces and more often than not a large bottle of perfume is 3.4 ounces. Not everybody (including me) was born with the gift of knowing how to decant perfumes.

I look to find out what the notes of the perfume I'm thinking of buying. I can't stand the note anise of my skin. I don't like smelling like a bag of black licorise with a flower or two mixed in. Everybody has thier own preferences. Some people love vanilla in thier perfume and can't get enough but others can't stand it. I am not a fan of vanilla and really don'tlike it when it is front and center or noticeable.

The biggest factor for me more often enough is the price tag. I ask myself did I like or love the sample enough to warrant a full bottle? Is the price a little too steep for my bank account to handle? Sometimes I really love the perfume but cannot justify paying $300 and up for a perfume (I'm looking at you Agonist). I do have limitations, sometimes it can depend on the time of year and what is going on at work.

My final factor right now is how strong is the perfume? Will it make an entrance before I do? I am a light sprayer but some perfumes are super strong so a very light hand is needed. Or am I going to end up applying this through out the day? A weak perfume is hardly worth any kind of money. I view it as a waste of money. I want my perfumes to last all day.

Prada Infusion D'Iris review

Over the past few days, I have been dallying in Prada's Infusion D'Iris. It was an impulse by from Amazon.com. I didn't smell it beforehand and have never tried anything of Prada's. The notes on the bottle are listed as: mandarine D'Italie, neroli de tunisie, bois de cedre, benjoin du laos, and encens de somalie. The perfume starts off with what hospitals use to disinfect air (air disinfectant) and on my skin it stays that way. The cedar and incense does give it an anchor on my skin but they are faint. Everytime I get a wiff ofit on my skin, I do want to scrub it off. It's not migraine inducing, I gotta scrub it off right away, but not something I really will wear. The bottle itself is pretty plain Jane and most likely going to get overlooked in my collection. This Prada is something that is probably going to take me 10 years to finish off, even though it is 1.7 oz. That's if I don't find someone who will take it off my hands.

Kenzo Flower review

On today's review list is Kenzo's Flower. I have been wearing it for the past couple days and I am not really enjoying it. I can't say I hate it. After reading a lot of rave reviews about it and then trying it, I am a little disapointed by it. The top notes are hawthorn, Bulgarian rose, and black currant, middle note are jasmine, opoponax, parma violet, and more Bulgerian rose. The base notes are listed as white musk and vanilla. I think it is the black currant that is pretty front and center that I am not liking at all. It just lasts like there is no tomorrow. What I am also getting is this Play Dough smell going on with Flower. The sillage is moderate on my skin and logetivity is pretty good. I do give Kenzo kudos for creating an eye catching bottle but a hard to store bottle and prone to be easily tipped. This is probably not something I would buy again when I finish my bottle whenever I do run out of it.

Perfume prices

Just like everything else the price of perfume seems to be going up. The perfumes that I love are not expensive to begin with. Niche scents are pricey enough as is but they seem to be going up. I remember back in what was it, when I ordered one of my now go to fragrance (Chanel's Cuir de Russie) it was $200 (USD) for the 6.8 oz bottle. At that time Chanel only offered it as a 6.8 oz bottle. Now it stands at $210when I checked a couple of months ago but that could have changed. I know that Chanel has given consumers the choice of thier Les Exlusifs line of a 2.5 oz or a 6.8 oz. The 2.5 oz is $110. What kind of makes me raise an eyebrow is that the concentration of the perfumes are the eau de toilette version and not eau de parfum. If it were the eau de parfum, I could see some of the reasoning behind the prices. Chanel is probably gunning on thier name and how percieve the Chanel name and product. I am using Chanel as an example.