Gucci Guilty for Her Review

A while ago, I had purchased a rollerball of Gucci Guilty. I make every effort on not making blind buys even though it can work out. Rarely does it ever work out. This time, that blind buy didn't work out.

I thought that Guilty might be interesting and I was attracted to the lilac note. I smelled no lilac from start to finish. Truth be told, I couldn't pick out one single note except for some patchouli and something amber. Patchouli can be a little iffy on my and amber is a no go most of the time for me. It was a messy floral oriental on my skin. After reading some reviews, I fail to see anything sexy or sensual about this one. Guilty just smells like so many mainstream women's perfumes. If Guilty is sexy to you, I would really like to introduce you to Shalimar (current formulation and maybe vintage) and I would like to introduce you to vintage Bal a Versailles. Sexy is not and should not be a squeaky clean smell. It's a human smell not a soap and water smell.

Yes, I don't like this perfume and happy that it was only a rollerball and not a full bottle of perfume. I do think that I associate sexy and sensual with MKK and vintage Bal a Versailles along with Shalimar. Maybe I've been spoiled with niche perfumery. Niche perfume doesn't seem to follow the trends like mainstream does. For so long, I've been pretty bored with mainstream and getting a little bored with niche as well.
 

Coco Coromandel Parfum Review

 I thought that I would actually get around to reviewing the parfum version of Coromandel while I was on vacation at the beginning of the month. But I've been dealing with and still somewhat dealing with financials. The pandemic has done a serious number on some finances and it's tough dealing with some of the fall out. Yes, I would love to go out and get that bottle of Gris Charnel but I can't justify any frivolous spending for a long time. There will be too many things going on that need my time and cash.

While I was on that vacation of mine, it was in the mid 80's and pretty humid. So I only managed to use up 3 candles. If it wasn't so humid, I might have been able to use at least a couple more. But who really wants to hear about some candles? I also managed to catch up on some reading that I had been meaning to do.

Last year, I seemed to be adding perfume to my collection at a rapid rate and both the Coromandel EDP and parfum made it into my collection. But it wasn't until recently that I have gotten around to giving the parfum a whirl. There are a few reasons on why I don't really go for parfum versions of anything. The freaking cost for the amount of perfume, evaporation of dabbers are my two biggest ones.  

I've noticed that the parfum is a definite amber perfume with some citrus in the beginning. When I spray my decant of the EDT, I don't really notice the amber and the EDP, the amber is more pronounced. What really remains from start to finish on me is the patchouli. Patchouli and amber are two notes that can be a little iffy on me. Amber and I don't normally mix too well. Patchouli, it can depend on what it's with. The parfum is much deeper and richer that anything that I've smelled in the EDT and EDP. Lasting power is about 11 hours on my skin and that did surprise me though. Most Chanel parfums don't last quite as long, mostly 6 or 7 hours on my skin. After my 15ml bottle is all used up, I don't think that I will run out and replace it. It's great but the amber is a little too loud for me. I'll stick to the EDP.

Perfume Bottles

In my massive collection, I don't have too many dabber bottles. Most of the ones that I do have are either vintage BaV, minis or pure parfum bottles.

There is a pretty good reason on why I don't have too many of them. I've spilled a few of them. With the ones that I have spilled, I managed to save a fair bit of perfume but I don't really want to take too many chances at this point. 

Since last year, I've had Coromandel and no 5 in pure parfum form sitting on my dresser, untouched. Well, this past week, I decided to rectify that. I really wanted to try Coromandel in pure parfum form. Anyone who is familiar with Chanel, knows that every concentration smells a little different. But I had forgotten how much of a pain in the ass opening an extrait bottle of Chanel can be. Trying to get the string undone and then trying to get the stopper out without shattering or spilling the bottle. I had gotten Coromandel directly from Chanel and no 5 from Sephora.

I had an easier time opening no 5 than I did with Coromandel. What I am thinking is that since no 5 is a huge seller, there might not be such a huge need to really seal the bottle. Coromandel was damn near impossible, probably since Coromandel isn't as widely known to the general public. So who knows how long my bottle of Coromandel was sitting around before it got to me. I was incredibly paranoid of spilling my bottle of Coromandel; knowing that if I broke/spilled the bottle, I wouldn't be getting another bottle anytime soon.
 

Combining Decants

My decant collection seems to have stopped multiplying for the most part. Which is a good thing because I was running out of containers to put them in. For many years, I was buying decants like it was going out of style. Now since that funds are not what they used to be, the decants have stopped reproducing. Getting travel sprays have been on the up but I am not buying nowhere near as much perfume as I used to. There are perfumes that I would love to buy but my bank account says no and I do have enough perfume and I do need to give it a rest.

 A few days ago, I started to go through all of my decants. I don't completely know how I managed to get multiple decants of some of my perfumes but I did. Some multiples I do know why. The problem with the decants that I have is evaporation. While I was looking at all of the decants, I was looking on which ones that I could combine. Three decants of Diorella, combined, 2 decants of Tigress Musk, combined them too and so on. I didn't go mixing all whilly nilly here but it was enjoyable to go and get rid of some of those decants and create some space. It was just extra space that I am not going to be filling up anytime soon but it just felt good to create some space. While I was going through that stuff, I managed to finish off a decant of Amouage Memoir.

There is more good news, I have made some progress with my candles as well. I have used up a few candles and have sorted through my candles. The ones that I don't want have been weeded out and I am debating on either donating them or giving some for gifts. I haven't quite figured it out yet. As we are halfway through summer, Bath and Body Works is starting to roll out their fall stuff. Thus far, the only thing that is interesting to me is the Apple Weather candle since they haven't released their Honeycrisp Apple candle. I have enough of the Apple Weather and Honeycrisp Apple but I always want more of them. But if I purchase more candles, I will just undo whatever progress I have made.

BDK Gris Charnel EDP Review

 Buying perfume blind is usually a bad idea. What if the perfume suck? Most places that sell perfume won't accept opened perfume bottles, even if you have an allergic reaction. Then you are stuck with something that you think sucks and out of money. Buying a travel spray blind is still a bad idea, maybe not a huge bad idea but can still be a bad idea. But sometimes it really can work out. For me, a travel spray of Gris Charnel EDP did work out.

A few months ago, I had gotten an email from Luckyscent about travel sprays and I went to take a look. I don't often visit Luckyscent but once in a while it's worth taking a look and occasionally buying something. And I did get that Frapin 1270 travel spray and also the Gris Charnel EDP travel spray. I've heard people talking about Gris Charnel and never quite got around to seeking it out. Then when my package arrived, my travel spray languished a little while longer until Sunday.

Very rarely do the clouds part and the angels started singing in terms of perfume for me. The last one that I can recall was either Lyric woman of the much lamented Deneuve. Gris Charnel is one of those perfumes that the clouds did part and the angels started singing. 

At first, I thought it was coconut but I realized that was the fig. If you know anything about dried fruit like cherries, raisins, it had almost a mouth feel of the fleshy part of the dried fruit and not the skin. The last time I had any kind of mouth feel with a perfume was Andy Tauer's tragically discontinued URV. The fig remained prominent throughout the wearing and did mellow out some. I got some whiffs of cardamon and more whiffs of tonka. I do have a love hate with tonka. Tonka has the tendency to overwhelm whatever else is in the perfume. Tonka is a difficult note for me, it's a vanilla but not a vanilla. But the sandalwood and tonka lend a creaminess and a sweetness to Gris Charnel that doesn't go overboard. The lasting power on my skin is about 6 to 7 hours and I do wished that it lasted a little longer on skin.

Gris Charnel is definitely on my to buy list and it's been a long time since I've had a perfume that goes on that list. Especially after the first wearing. When I order a bottle for my birthday, I am going to have to order a sample of the extrait version to do a side to side comparison.

The Current State of Affairs

On Friday, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. These conservative judges said that Roe v Wade was unconstitutional and the decision should be left up to each individual state. The problem with the decision going back to the individual states is that half of the United States will have either outright banned abortion or put severe restrictions in place. 

I'm not understanding how the Supreme Court can rule that Roe v Wade is unconstitutional but hold the case of Buck v Bell constitutional. Buck v Bell was a court case giving license to forcibly sterilize the disabled and people of color. Yes, if a judge decides that I am "feeble-minded" I can be sterilized without my consent. This is what disabled women, like me, fear. That kind of loss of autonomy. The autonomy to have an abortion if I needed/wanted one and the ability to have children if I chose to have them. 

This whole thing makes me wonder what next will be considered to be unconstitutional. My right to vote? My right to have a bank account or credit card in my name. It wasn't until the late 70's or early 80's that a woman could open a bank account, credit card or get a bank loan without a male relative's signature. It wasn't until 1993 that marital rape was a crime in all of the 50 states. 

Pleasures Body Lotion and Amouage Honour Bath and Body Stuff

 While I was on vacation a couple weeks ago, I kept meaning to post something but never seemed to come up with anything. If I did think of something, I forgot, then time really got away from me and now we are at the end of the month. And I don't really talk too much about perfumed bath stuff. I managed in the past couple weeks to start using Estee Lauder Pleasures body lotion and Amouage Honour soap and body butter.

I don't really get into bath soaps and lotions too much any more. In high school and when I went to college, I loved body washes and lotions. When I fell in love with something at Bath and Body Works, I had to have the matching body wash, lotion and mist. Back in the late 90's and early 00's, Bath and Body Works was cheap and cheap was my budget. 

Since my perfume collection has grown, my bath collection didn't. Most of my perfumes don't have bath and body lines, so regular soap and unscented lotion will have to do. Chanel, Clinique, Estee Lauder and Amouage are the only ones that have a full bath and body line. Truth be told, that suits me just fine. I don't really need tons of bath stuff since I am trying to use things up and get rid of things.

When I was testing the Pleasures body lotion, I wasn't expecting to be impressed with it. Until I was impressed with the body lotion. I was expecting it to be either not moisturizing enough or too heavy. I was also expecting it to be either overwhelming with perfume or bear no resemblance to Pleasures. It was the right amount of perfume and moisturizing enough without being too heavy. I have dry skin with really scaly elbows and my elbows need all the help they can get. When you spend almost sixty dollars on a lotion, my expectations are a little higher than what I would spend at a grocery store for some lotion.

It took me forever to finally open and use the Amouage Honour woman bath stuff but I finally did. I can never make up my mind on if I like or love Honour woman. Honour woman can be equal points of love and annoyance for me. Honour woman was the last Amouage that I really paid attention to. I didn't pay too much attention to Beloved. I think that was when Amouage was really starting to release tons of things at once and it got to be too much for me.

Amouage packaging has always been on the decadent side but Amouage is a house that knows that if someone is going to spend the money, the details of everything matter. When I opened the bar soap, it was the engravings on the soap that really wowed me, just that little detail amazed me. Yes, the little decorations will wash away but it is still awesome. The bar soap didn't really lather up too well but I have the same issue with my Epic bar soap. The body butter was mostly decadent but in terms of moisturizing properties, it wasn't moisturizing enough for me. It definitely smelled like Honour but I found the smell to be a little too dense.

What I have noticed is that it is harder and harder to find Amouage bath and body stuff. I am having a harder and harder time trying to find Epic, Lyric and Memoir in bath and body stuff. I think even Amouage might be having problems too getting  supplies in to make these things. I am running pretty low on Lyric and Memoir bath and body things. I'm hoping that I can start replenishing my stock soon enough.