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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.