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.