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.

Tauer L'Air Du Desert Marocain Review

It's fall in Cleveland and it's the time for clambakes, apple and pumpkin foods. Clambakes in rural areas always seem to involve bonfires. And I always look to see what really compliments the dry weather and bonfires. For a long while, Chanel Sycomore always seemed to fit the bill or sometimes Mitsouko. But Andy Tauer's L'Air Du Desert Marocain really fits the bill for a lot of situations that has a roaring bonfire or a barbeque.

The full bottle Tauers that I own (3) always seem to get lost in my shuffle of Chanels, Guerlains and Amouages. I don't know why or how but they do. Probably because they can be so hard to match with events or the seasons can't cooperate to wear them, so I forget about them. But yesterday seemed to be a day for L'Air Du Desert Marocain.

L'Air starts off by being almost bone dry. I keep thinking that there is lavender in there but according to Luckyscent, there is no lavender in there. Bone dry isn't bad when it smells good, as L'Air smells good being almost bone dry. I really do enjoy L'Air and glad that I got a full bottle unsniffed.

Narciso Rodriguez For Her

Did you ever get to the point of sniffage were it's either you get to wearing maybe the same 14-20 perfumes and neglect anything new? Then it hits you after blogging about random, somewhat uninteresting things that at one point or another, you've already blogged about. Sniffing a new perfume was in order.

For three days, I've been wearing Narciso Rodriguez for Her trying to figure it out. I get lots of patchouli in the beginning and not much else, then the musk comes through. Somewhere, something else peeks through a little bit. Flowers? Fruit? I can't be sure but all I know is that I'm not liking this perfume as a whole. Patchouli is one of those notes that I am ambivalent about just like musk when they are dominant notes. It depends on how they are presented, I think.

What bugs me about this whole thing is that it seems to follow the your skin but better idea. That idea doesn't suit me because I like my perfume to smell like perfume, not the your skin bit better. And I like my musk to lend a sensual hand or somewhat of a slutty hand to perfume. Lasting power is decent and wears close to the skin. But it just seems to sit on skin with no further development after the first 20 minutes. I own perfumes that evolve over the course of a half a wearing. Hopefully, perfume will come away from the clean musk, your skin but better, fruity garbage that permeates the market right now.

Now I Know Why

It's been a slow and agonizing process of using up my smaller decants (thanks Surrender to Chance for those flash sales). But it can be a great thing too. I've had a chance to truly know if I still like, love or hate a perfume. I'm still hoarding my vintage Mitsouko, Deneuve and Jicky though. This time, I've landed on Guerlain L'Heure Bleue.

The first few times that I did try it after I reviewed it, that it was just the wrong me that day. Nope, I'm having a hard time getting past the composition as a whole. I want to like it but I can't get past the association of after visiting the dentist. Every time that I wear L'Heure Bleue, I get those phantom sensations of Novocaine wearing off. For me, this does suck because I love most classic perfumes and never had one that I associated so strongly with something that is just so horrible for me. I'm not sure if I should just toss what is left of my decant or wait a few more years to see if my opinion has changed.

Packaging and Bottle Design

Every so often, I get really get annoyed with a box that any new perfume and the bottle design. It's always a joy when I buy a full bottle of perfume, even if it is a backup bottle. But the packaging that holds the perfume itself is irritating. What has gotten me annoyed with this stuff is I got my back up bottle of Nasomatto Nuda.

I am not talking about when the package itself arrives at my doorstep. Getting my perfume, unbroken, is important. Everything (the USP box and peanuts) except my invoice and perfume gets thrown out. I've always liked how Chanel and Serge Lutens (export line) look and loved the packaging because it is minimal. The bottles are plain, the packaging is plain. All in the idea of that the perfume should not be judged by the packaging but in the perfume itself. Sometimes, less is more.

The whole Nasomatto line has gotten me a little riled. The glass that actually holds the perfume is just fine but the cap is just horrid. I mean, really? A round, wooden cap. The cap is huge and just doesn't fit. The skanky tuberose/jasmine perfume is great but the cap could have been thought out a little better. Too much bulk and it just looks bad because of the proportions.