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.