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.

Vintage Givenchy III Review

I always keep forgetting that chypres seem to do best in cool or cold weather. They can be horribly moody or downright nasty in warm weather. On Friday, I was wearing Mitsouko in a store that was overheated and Mistouko was just vicious to me and when I had gone outside, she was singing my praises. Even though Chanel no 19 (EDP) likes warm/hot weather, she really blooms in cooler weather.

But this leads me to vintage Givenchy III. I have a tiny spray decant that I had tested out but I am not sure if this is an EDT or an EDP version. But after wearing it last night, I can defiantly identify this as a chypre. My nose says that this is a cross of Mitsouko and Chanel no 19. But III leans more to Mitsouko. The galbanum and rose lends to the no 19 association but the rose in Mitsouko. I do smell aldehydes in III which does seperate III from Mitsouko. If it were not for the aldehydes and galbanum, I probably would have taken III for Mitsouko. But I really do like III and ordered a large decant.

Starting New

It's not winter to me until I see snow on the ground and winter has hit Cleveland. But I have noticed that I'm not one that indulges in nail polish or matching bath and body products often. When you work in food service, nail polish on fingers is a no go but I do polish my toe nails from time to time. But now is the time of year where I do my toes quite often. I think now is the time to start back up with doing my toe nails again.

I have tried many brands of nail polish but have found that OPI seems to be the best of the bunch. The quality, even though it seems to have gone down a little bit, is great. I have about 3 or 4 days of wear before there is chipping. I'm sure if I had my fake nails again, the lasting power would be at least two weeks. What gets me about OPI is that it seems like every week there is some sort of new collection of colors out. And there comes a certain point to where I have to say no. The Russian and German collection are enough for me. It seems like they have so many cute, clever or funny names for nail polishes and not enough colors in the world to match them with.

But body products are even harder for me to buy, let alone use. Before I had a million bottles of perfume, I had maybe one or two full bottles of actual perfume but was big into Bath and Body Works. Now, I have to think about if I really love a perfume to see if there are any matching body products. Dia and Lyric are the only two perfumes that I own that have the matching bath and body products. And I haven't used them yet. It just seems like a huge commitment to start using bath and body products because somehow I have to actually finish the whole shower gel and lotion in a month or two and I am pretty fickle when it comes to perfume. It is hard for me to really want to wear a perfume for more than a day or two at a time but layering a perfume with matching body products is probably overkill.