Remodels and Anxiety

I just love it when there is something in the house that is being remodeled. Right now, bathrooms and the kitchen is being redone. Well, one bathroom is gutted and the construction guys are about to install the bathtub and do the tiles and my kitchen is somewhat functional. Needless to say, it's anxiety inducing because of having people you don't know in your house and wondering if they are judging you about lots of things that I won't even mention. Don't even get me started on my dogs. My dogs are going between excited to anxious then not happy because I have to put them in my bedroom to keep them out of the way. Yes, my house has never been the cleanest because of two dogs but it's even worse with no pantry and construction dust everywhere. And remodeling is expensive so that makes the anxiety much worse. I hope that at the end of this month, this stuff will be done.

After helping out some rearranging and moving the computer room to a guest bedroom because I might get a grandmother staying over for a month because of a knee replacement, I was without a computer and internet for a day and a half. It's amazing because my computer desk breaks and I am lugging an old kitchen table to use as a computer desk, on how dependant I have become on a computer and internet for shopping, entertainment, bill pay and much more. Let's just say that I have played a ton on Monopoly on my Kindle than anything else.

But during this time, I have been using up my decant of no 19 in EDT form partly because I am not wild about no 19 in EDT form and the other part is needed something to combat the anxiety. I have been trying to use up my decant of Cuir de Russie as well. With Cuir de Russie, I have that huge 6.8 ounce bottle that I am wondering why I am hoarding and the half ounce bottle of parfum that does need some hoarding due to the fact that I can't afford $200 or more on a half an ounce of parfum every month and a half. I can only afford $50-$100 on decants and maybe a full bottle every month if I wanted to.

Difficult

It's a new year and I haven't really been inspired to blog about anything until today. For the past few days, I have been wearing Chanel no 22, Patou Joy and Shalimar and had a few half baked blog posts in mind but one stuck out in particular when I wore Joy.

Now, Patou Joy is one of my perfume loves because of the huge jasmine note and I love a huge jasmine note in perfume. Joy has that whole indolic jasmine and rose combination going on. It's bright and sunny but not 'heavy' like one would get in Nuda due to my arch enemy, tuberose. But Joy is difficult to wear because of the indoles. On Thursday, I wore Joy because I haven't worn in at least 6 months and people were yapping about cat pee and I realized that I don't wear Joy that often because people keep complaining about the cat pee and I don't even have a cat. Then, I did realize why I really don't wear Joy too often.

Chanel no 22 in vintage form is another one that can be a little difficult because of the powder. It's funny though, in the current formulation of no 22, there seems to be a whole lot less of the powder note but people do say that it smells funny or like bug spray, so I guess winter wear of no 22 is out of the question.

It's the End

Not of my blog, I have too big of an unsniffed pile of decants to be worn and reviewed and still waging a war on trying to finish at least one or two bottles of perfume. It's the end of 2014 and I've got nothing but a bunch of rambling for a blog post even though I can copy a few and the the best of thing or a year in review but nothing specific springs to mind.

Let's just say that I really need to finish a bottle of Shalimar and no 5 before I really start adding bottles of perfume to the hoard. It's due to the fact that I've spent way too much time and money scouting E-bay, Beauty Encounter and Surrender to Chance getting back ups and ignoring a good chunk of my collection. I was scouting E-bay for a lot of vintage stuff but getting very little vintage and Beauty Encounter got a lot because of Fendi's Theorema. But I am thinking when things calm down in mid-January, I'll get that one last bottle of Theorema for my collection because I am still scratching my head over why Fendi discontinued it.

But on Monday, I saw my last movie at the movie theater for 2014 and that was the last installment of the Hobbit. In a way, I am sad because I have no Middle Earth to look forward to. I loved Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit and I always looked forward to when they came out in theaters. But most movies just don't catch my attention because of the fact it's either trash, super heros, kind of like porn, or just plain bad. I'm hoping that Hollywood takes note that not everyone wants this bad stuff or the Hunger Games.

Guerlain Shalimar Ode a la Vanille EDP Review

After spending the month with mostly wearing Jicky and Shalimar, it's time to really get going on a Shalimar flanker review. Shalimar seems to be the classic that has at least a million flankers and most either sound like a very toned down version and not worth trying out. But then I heard about Shalimar's Ode a la Vanille that did seem to be the best of the bunch.

I am one of those who doesn't exactly approve of flankers of any kind but abhor flankers of classics. No 5 Eau Premiere was very good, no 19 Poudre was a disgrace to the original no 19. But Ode a la Vanille is very good. Ode a la Vanille could be mistaken for the original Shalimar just like L'Heure de Nuit could be mistaken for L'Heure Bleue. But after spending more time with Ode a la Vanille, I started to smell the difference between the two Shalimars. Believe me, it does take time to notice. But the first thing to hit me was that the citrus was a little sharper and a little more noticeable in the beginning of Ode a la Vanille. In the regular Shalimar, the lemon isn't sharp but noticeable. I've never smelled a chocolate note in Shalimar and that came as a surprise when I was starting to get into the dry down phase of Ode a la Vanille. I'm not exactly sure if I like chocolate in my perfume. But the vanilla is a little creamier in Ode a la Vanille.

The Shalimar structure is definitely in Ode a la Vanille and if you got a bottle of the regular Shalimar, Ode a la Vanille isn't exactly needed in a collection but Ode a la Vanille is a limited edition so I say stock up if you love Shalimar. Ode a la Vanille is worth seeking out in large decant form or a bottle or two.

Vintage Chanel no 19 EDP Review

A couple weeks ago I managed to score a half used bottle of Chanel no 19 9the 1.2 ounce bottle) in EDP form off Ebay and did a side by side comparison. Let's just say that I love no 19 in EDP form and it doesn't matter if it's vintage or the current version even though the current version of the EDP is kind of getting trashed.

I know this bottle is vintage because by reading up on vintage no 19, the color of the juice goes from green to yellow but that's not unusual for colors to change with any perfume but there are differences between the current and vintage version. In the current version, the rose is the star and the rose is really bright. The galbanum is bright as well and very green. In the current version, I really don't smell a whole lot of the iris.

The vintage version smells like the current version of the EDP with a few exceptions. Let's just say it's much greener. The galbanum smells a little different and smells a little better than the current version and the rose is not as pronounced as I smell in the current EDP. Instead of little peeks here and there with the iris, the iris is more pronounced. But I do love the vintage and current version of no 19 in EDP form and I do hope that I will be able to find more bottles of the vintage EDP.

A Lazy Bum

I have been a lazy bum for the past year or so with trying new perfumes and when I do, they are not exactly the latest release. The perfume I might be trying out is new to me though because it's impossible for me to keep up with the latest releases. But my whole thing has been getting back up bottles, getting vintages and trying to use up what I have before I add anything new. And the only bottle that I am having any success with using up is my 3 year old bottle of no 5 in EDP form. It's because I do have a back up EDP bottle along with a backup EDT bottle. Now, if I could really get a move on with my 3 bottles of Mitsouko (current formulation). But Mitsouko requires a certain mood to be worn. But I do hope that after the holidays and things calm down a little bit, I will start reviewing perfumes on a regular basis.

But yes, vintage has taken over my perfume collecting habits and to the point of neglecting favorites houses or just one or two perfumes. I was wondering on how can I forget about my Amouages or about two thirds of my Chanels in favor of wearing the same two or three perfumes? Some of it is the situational stuff. Why would I waste my Amouages at my job or a good chunk of my vintages at my job? Most people wouldn't get them and plus because I deal with the general public, I don't really want some of my favorites spoiled by one nasty person.

It's Cyber Monday

It's after Thanksgiving and all I keep hearing about is Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And honestly, I'm already sick of hearing about this garbage. I am one of those who really hates going out and shopping no matter how good the deal is, except when The Perfumed Court or Surrender to Chance is having a good sale going on. But I hat going to brick and mortar store and dealing with other customers who are just outright nasty to other shoppers and the employees. I mean, folks, there is a reason for the season and no need to be nasty to others.

At this point, I can either keep Amazon Prime for $99 or I can ditch it. I'm really debating if I want to keep it or not. One one hand, the two day shipping is nice and having a Kindle makes it worth it to a degree but it's still $99 and I have until the 8th to decide if I really want to keep it or not.

Christmas shopping is just a huge pain in the butt for me. Christmas shopping does involve some kind of budget and figuring out who I am shopping for. I have decided to spend no more than $25 on every one that I am shopping for. At this point, I can check one of my grandmothers off my list due to the Fragrancenet Cyber Monday deal.

But I view Black Friday and Cyber Monday as days where people love to brag about what kind of new gadget or some hot toy or gaming system. To me, gift giving isn't about what you get someone or the cost of the gift, it's the thought that was put into the gift.