Guerlain Derby Reissue Review

Since I am so slowly working my way through my bag of those that haven't been worn or reviewed, it was time to get something reviewed. This time my grubby fingers landed on the Derby reissue. I have enjoyed a few of Guerlain's classic offerings and thought this was worth a shot.

This starts of with a peppery citrus note along with carnation. At first, I couldn't figure out where I smelled this before. I swear that I smelled that before. Was that the opening of Christalle? I would have to give Christalle another go to refresh my memory. But then I realize that it smells a whole lot like Givenchy III which I do like wearing from time to time. There is a moss note that comes into play after a while giving Derby a little bit of a Mitsouko feel. The leather that I smell, doesn't exactly suit the whole thing. It smells kind of poopy and just doesn't fit. The lasting power with Derby is a decent 6 hours. Derby keeps fairly close to skin but is not a skin scent. EDT's are usually sit pretty close to me because I have dry skin and I was amazed with the fact that I got 6 hours of wear before this faded into nothing.

Since I don't care for Derby, I won't be getting a bottle of this. Which in some ways, a relief.

Prowling E-Bay

On Thursday night, the microwave at my house finally gave up the ghost. The thing was dying a slow death for a couple months. It wasn't heating up food all the way and every time that you opened the door, the turn table thing would start turning and it would behave as though it was heating something up. It's funny how dependant you become on a microwave, until they die and you must get a new one. When you don't have one that means that you have no real way of quickly thawing something out, no way to heat up any kind of leftovers, no nothing. I don't have any safe plates to put in the oven to heat up leftovers and a frozen dinner takes forever in the oven. But yesterday, there was a new microwave in the house and now everyone is happy over the fact. But nobody wants to hear about a dead microwave.

I try not to make a huge habit of prowling E-bay. Even though great deals can be found on vintage perfume or the discontinued, it can get expensive when it becomes a habit. When I did make it a pretty regular habit, I spent more than I really should have and more bottles than I really need. But I did find a way around being not so regular on E-Bay. I limited myself to about 3 vintage perfumes and E-Bay e-mails me when people put up new bottles. Then I take a look to see how good those deals are. It's still a little tough not to go looking every couple days but it's working out. But sometimes I go looking for other stuff and do score. The Shiseido version of Feminite du Bois is one of those fabled perfumes that doesn't come up too often and when it does, it's uber expensive and this time I did luck out on a spray bottle that's mostly full. I am just hoping that it hasn't gone off since I enjoy the Serge Lutens version and I do have a small decant of the original.

My Collection and TV

It's the first spring like day we have had in Ohio and I'm excited. I can actually for at least one day wear a short sleeved shirt. This is the time of year where I get tired of winter. So very tired of the cold, getting dark so early, not seeing the sun until 8 in the morning. I'm mostly tired of wearing long sleeved shirts and hoodies. The best part for me is not having to choose as wisely in terms of perfume. I have to choose wisely because long sleeves seem to really retain perfume and I don't like perfumes fighting with each other. I don't want Mitsouko arguing with Epic for dominance.

Since we are top of spring it's time to start rearranging my perfume collection. My collection has never really been organized by season. They have more often been arranged by perfume house. Even though they might be somewhat arranged by house, perfumes still get lost in the shuffle. What I am probably going to do is bring the stuff I keep forgetting about up to the front and hopefully, I will start wearing them a whole lot more.

I really haven't been watching a whole lot of TV recently because there isn't a whole lot on that interests me. Since Downton Abbey, I have been watching Call the Midwife in it's place. I've been binge watching the previous seasons to refresh my memory and to really get excited about the new season. The PBS miniseries, Victoria is somewhat holding my interest but not really. The first season annoyed me a whole lot and I don't know why but I have enjoyed the second season. I'm a little bit of a shock with Sunday's episode with Drummond getting shot and Prince Albert being more of an ass than usual. I'm looking for suggestions on what to watch.

Comme des Garcons Series 3 Ouarzazate Review

It's has been a long winter thus far and I am feeling it. I just want to stay in bed and read or watch movies on my Kindle and not go anywhere. But alas, I can't. My elderly Lab isn't doing too good. She has always been a sturdy dog but in the past couple weeks, her age has caught up to her. She isn't too steady on her feet due to an inner ear issue and arthritis is causing some trouble on top of it. My family and I are giving her extra love and attention and her four legged buddy is giving her extra love too and she is milking it for all it's worth. I'm hoping that she will be OK for the next couple months so my sister can see her one more time.

I've fallen into a perfume rut for the millionth time of wearing the same few perfumes. Then I started to crave the Comme des Garcons incense line. I'd remembered that I hadn't tested one and had to go for it. Ouarzazate is the last on my list and  days, it's what I have been wearing on and off for the past few days. I have really enjoyed the series and kind of sad that there aren't more in this series.

Comme des Garcons isn't really known for flashy bottles or ad campaigns but I find the bottles to be utilitarian than anything else. But it's what's inside the bottle that is more interesting. I still have to look at the bottle because first impressions can be everything. But let's get to the perfume.

Ouarzazate starts out sharp and a little lemon like but there is no lemon note listed. I'm not quite sure what note is giving off that vibe. Then I notice the labdanum and vanilla off set that lemony note and soften the dominant note. The incense is huge in Ouarzazate but it seems rough and maybe a little crude. But with the labdanum, it becomes a little softer and more wearable. But with many EDT's I don't get much of a lasting power, only about 2 and a half hours at most. Quarzazate wears close to the skin. I can't see this one being added to my collection anytime soon.

It's Superbowl Sunday

It's Superbowl Sunday and I really don't care. I will be honest and flat out say that I hate football and most sports. So I'm sitting here, switching tabs. From blogging, watching a movie from my Amazon account and doing my nails.

Polishing my nails is something I always kind of enjoyed but hated the whole thing of waiting forever for them to dry. I've always had problems with the quick dry nail polishes and the quick dry drops haven't really worked for me. I could never quite justify those ultraviolet light than nail salons have. But I have found something that works for me. Ulta has a professional nail dry aerosol can and that works really well. Instead of waiting around for a half an hour between coats I am only waiting around for 2 or 3 minutes. That means that I can be done with my nails in under an hour. And I do like that idea because I can actually do my nails on a more regular basis and I hope that I can use up some of the nail polish that I actually have before I go and buy more. Nail polish is much cheaper than perfume but I would rather have the bottle of perfume.

The nail polish that I chose was OPI's Iceland collection. The polish was called Check Out the Old Geysirs. It's a light blue and doesn't do pictures from a smart phone to well. But I am liking it and it's a good thing that I got myself that 2nd bottle. Turn on the Northern Lights and This isn't Greenland are the next on my list for backup bottles. OPI doesn't really keep collections around too long and maybe one or two will make it to the permanent collection. It's probably a numbers game. So it's always a good idea to snap up a couple bottles that you love because in another 6 months, there is no telling if it will still be around for sale.