Fun with Amazon

I've always enjoyed shopping on Amazon and never had issues with their shipping. Until today, well I, should say yesterday. I had ordered a calender and few other things that have not arrived. I had ordered Serge Lutens' A La Nuit and had received that it maybe late. Where it was coming from and what weather conditions were, I was understanding but A La Nuit, much to my surprise, did arrive on time. Four items haven't made it to my doorstep and there was no e-mail to give me a heads up. Needless to say, I am not happy with Amazon and sent them an e-mail. We shall see what happens with this.

Serge Lutens Feminite du Bois Review

I'm finding it hard to believe that I haven't reviewed my very first Serge Lutens. What I mean is that when I fell down the rabbit hole and was really new to niche perfumers, I was buying bottles left and right. I was most intrigued by the reverence in the perfume world with Serge Lutens. I wasn't sure what the fuss was about and still kind of don't.

Feminite du Bois (not the Shisedo version) was the very first Lutens offering that I did get. It's a spicy, fruity, dusty combination that seems pretty linear. Even though cedar is listed in the notes, I don't get any kind of cedar. Stewed fruit and spice market seems to be a recurring thing in many of Lutens' work and I still don't know if I like the stewed fruit and spice combination. It always smells dusty to be because of Feminite du Bois. Sarrasins and A La Nuit seems to be the exception to this and to a lesser degree De Profundis. There is the lasting power of plutonium in many of Serge Lutens offerings when you get the full spray bottles. Spray decants seem not to give the longevity as the full bottles.

What I have noticed with many of Serge Lutens perfumes, is the color of the perfume itself. Red, orange, pink, purple and a few others. It is a little jarring to see that in a perfume when one is accustomed to seeing an orangey yellow or clear. I'm wondering if I was attracted to this line because of the different colors in the perfumes themselves. I really don't wear Feminite du Bois too much but it is nice for what it is though.

End of the Year

So it's the end of the year and I haven't accomplished much of anything perfume wise. The beginning of the year was back ups, Amouage then it did become the vow of finishing the smaller decants. But slowly but surely, the pile is getting smaller.

This year has been marked with some 'short' trips. Well, they aren't completely short trips but more of very long car rides to Virginia. But I have noticed a couple things when I go on any kind of trip. That I really over pack on the perfume. I had left for Virginia the day after Christmas and just came home and had packed 6 bottles of perfume and 7 large decants for 5 days. I'm not one of those people that wears multiple perfumes on any given day. I think from here on out, when traveling, I will carry no. 5 and one or two decants. Reason being is that every time that I do travel, I wear no.5 the most and probably because it is so versatile and some how comforting. But this time, I somehow managed to always be on the go and developed bronchitis and perfume was kind of out of the running except a little bit of Jicky in the morning. Even in the EDP version of Jicky, I don't find it to be long lasting and it sucks because it is a classic and smells phenomenal.

Evaporation

Did you ever get a bottle of perfume a few months back and have found that it seems to be evaporating fairly quickly? I'm not talking the parfum bottles that seem to evaporate fairly quickly without using them often.

Back in mid-April, I had purchased Andy Tauer's L'Air du Desert Marocain and have worn it 6 or 7 times, one squirt every time and it seems like it's evaporating. I've had Une Rose Vermeille much longer and have used it more and still looks pretty full. I'm thinking with the bottle design itself and maybe the materials used that contributes to that issue. I'm looking at the rubber ring at the base of the sprayer that might be part of the issue and at the very outside the wooden cap that could account for some of it.

Thus far, from what I've tried from Andy Tauer, his perfumes are well made and enjoyable, even though I'm still not wild about URV. The reason that I'm still not wild about URV is the huge raspberry Jolly Rancher component to it. Fruit in perfume is kind of sketchy because just about every current perfume (celebrity or not) is more often than not, loaded with fruit. But URV is a better quality fruity floral perfume. But I have noticed that Andy Tauer's offerings to have the tendency to fall off my radar.

But I'm trying to figure out the best way to deal with the evaporation issue. I get the fact that every time the cap comes off, I do lose a little bit of perfume before I decide to spray or not. But it is aggravating when most of my perfume collection in niche and niche can be expensive.

When It Rain, It Pours

Right now, I'm coming up to some serious oral surgery that will be happening tomorrow and I'm nervous as all get out. I don't even think that I will be even wearing perfume tomorrow. Doctors and banks really rile me to no end. Most doctors won't let you do any kind of payment plan. Look, if you won't take my credit card, maybe you should consider a payment plan. Then, I had to call the bank that has my savings and they are sending me paperwork to give me my money because I hadn't been dumping money or really checking that account. That savings account is something I don't touch or maybe look at once a year. If it's not in my checking account, I don't spend it.

In the perfume world, those who love Chanel no 5 seem to prefer it in EDT or parfum strength. The EDP version may have been described as having an '80's vibe to it in Turin and Sanchez's The Guide but I beg to differ. The original Coco (not Coco Noir) has an '80's vibe to it, so does CK Obsession or Opium but not the EDP version of no 5. But the EDP version of no 5 is the first version of no 5 that I fell in love with and I must be a freak.

Fendi Theorema Review

Fendi's Theorema has been sitting in my unreviewed bag or perfumes for at least a year. I have been wearing it off and on for the past year and still don't know if I truly like it or not. It's one of those oddball perfumes and one that is sadly discontinued.

When I first apply Theorema, I get a whopping does of candied oranges and all kinds of spices. I see that jasmine and rose and a few other flowers are listed in there but I don't get flowers at all in Theorema. Normally, I'm not wild about citrus in my perfume but Theorema is an exception to this. The reason why is that the orange is juicy but in the process of becoming either candied or is being dried out. But well into the dry down, there is a vague sour/bitter element that peeks out that I cannot place. It's not like sour sweat but still kind of jarring. I keep debating on if I should just full the trigger and get myself a bottle or not.

Tocca Florence Review

Ever since Bath and Body Works discontinued Gardenia Lily, I have been kind of looking for a replacement for it. It can be difficult to find a gardenia perfume because the tuberose aspect kind of dominates the whole gardenia aspect. More often than not, I don't much care for tuberose because tuberose is overwhelming to my nose. Hence, why I have a hard time with Fracas and Carnal Flower.

Then I came across my Tocca Florence mini. Let's just say that Florence comes pretty close to Gardenia Lilly. But I've noticed that there is a fair amount of tuberose after the top notes have calmed down. It seems as soon as I really start to enjoy Florence, it's poof! gone. That seems to be my biggest complaint with Florence and the Tocca line, there is no longevity. It's always the 3 hours max of skin time before it flees. The bottles are really cute but I really can't see myself really really getting the more of the Tocca line for the bad lasting power and they are kind of boring.