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Bulgari Rose Essential vs. Chanel No. 19

post #1 of 12
10/22/06 at 4:40pm
Thread Starter 
Okay, now, you people have somehow magicked me into , and teased me along this new path of fragrance obsession...and thank you. Today while eagerly awaiting some precious decants from two kind souls on this site, I decided to take matters into my own impatient hands and go to Bloomingdales...
You all gave me confidence to actually have a prolonged encounter with Donna, the fragrance manager...
Long story short, I tried Chanel no. 19 first off , let it settle and kept going back to it, it has this bright , clear sharpness to it that makes me feel sexy, capable and confident and a little mysterious.
BUT then I tried Bulgari Rose Essentielle , and at the first sniff, tears sprang to my eyes. I suddenly felt wrapped in a tender embrace and brought to my knees. It opened up some kind of vulnerable , gooey place in me. Not where I wanted to be in the middle of Bloomies.

So guess which one came home with me?
The Chanel. I need to be able to function, I reasoned. But I will revisit the Bulgari when I am feeling stronger. How can one ignore something that had such a visceral effect? The Chanel 19 is not my holy grail, as you all call it, but it is a nice beginning for me.

Thanks for listening. You are all a really special group of people and I am glad to have found you!
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post #2 of 12
10/22/06 at 5:26pm
Strange, I completely understand where you are coming from, just from the other direction -- another newbie here with a Chanel 19 moment this weekend.

I'm trying to find a scent to replace one I've loved for years that has come to have sad associations, collecting samples to broaden my horizons with, and the Chanel batch came Thursday. Each sample was a reminder: No. 5 (Mom), Coco (sister), Christalle (old friend), No. 22 (intriguing) and then No. 19, which felt just shockingly perfect --like "where have you been all my life?" It just felt so me and new at the same time. I spent Friday at work surreptitiously sniffing my wrist to make sure it wasn't just an irrational infatuation.

On the way home Friday the weather started. A microburst cut a swath through my cosy little tree-lined neighborhood late Friday, ripping up a dozen 100-200 year-old maples and elms and tossing them around like chop sticks, taking out the power lines, blocking streets, smashing cars and a falling on a few roofs. Part of my porch was smashed, and a 80-foot tree fell across my brother's yard. Amazingly, no one was injured.

You want to love a fragrance, but you have to have some distance to get through the day. I wonder if Chanel No. 19 will always smell like mayhem now?
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post #3 of 12
10/23/06 at 3:46am
These are such different, fantastic fragrances, aren't they? I like both of these very much but haven't taken the plunge for either one yet. I last tried No. 19 in the summer's heat; the leather was a bit too much. I plan to try it again soon now that it's cooler. The Rose Essential is immediately delighted me; unfortunately it disappeared from my skin in less than an hour. I plan to re-try it again with a bigger spray this time...or maybe I can get a friendly Nordie's salesperson to give me a sample.
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post #4 of 12
10/23/06 at 6:33am
Oh boy. I did the same thing with the roses. I joined Basenotes a few months ago. LOL. And yes, I own and love Chanel No. 19.
Next, sample the Les Parfums de Rosine line. They do such a fine, fine job with roses. Aedes has samples.
After that, try the Montale Aoud line, like Black Aoud. It is drop dead gorgeous, but you have to get your nose accustomed before you go there. I am in the middle of sampling that line.
Still have to get my Creed The Rose Bulgare sample.
Also check out this previous thread on roses:
http://community.basenotes.net/showthread.php?t=187739
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post #5 of 12
10/23/06 at 3:31pm
Hee hee, ha ha! I'm a big fan of Rose Essentielle, and it had a similiar effect on me, as though I were smelling perfection. It satisfying to hear another loves it, too! And #19 is on a short wish list, as well!
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post #6 of 12
10/23/06 at 5:04pm
Thanks for the hint on the "rose" thread! I got a sample of Frederic Malle Une Rose today -- it hits me as the antithesis of Guerlain's ripe dewy roses, but really wonderful in a dry and entirely different way. It seems to meld with the skin rather than sitting on top of it.
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post #7 of 12
10/23/06 at 5:16pm
Thread Starter 
Ripe and dewey? Where can I get the ripe and dewey one? Seriously, now what is the name of that one? Anyway, I am holding out on roses because I am getting a decant of Parfum Sacre from Mr. Good Life and I think he mentioned there is some lovely rose in there...for some reason my tuning fork is tuned to that fragrance in a mythical way...
I can't get endless rose scents, I have to feed my chillen'!

But it is fun to read the experiences of others - amazing really how a scent can open up a vista in your mind. I'm a writer, this may open up new worlds for me in that way too...

Will check out the rose thread, though....
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post #8 of 12
10/23/06 at 5:19pm
Thread Starter 
But in the meantime, what is your favorite of the rose scents? (or will I find that on the thread, if so , ignore....)
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post #9 of 12
10/23/06 at 6:20pm
Thread Starter 
emfoley writes:
On the way home Friday the weather started. A microburst cut a swath through my cosy little tree-lined neighborhood late Friday, ripping up a dozen 100-200 year-old maples and elms and tossing them around like chop sticks, taking out the power lines, blocking streets, smashing cars and a falling on a few roofs. Part of my porch was smashed, and a 80-foot tree fell across my brother's yard. Amazingly, no one was injured.

You want to love a fragrance, but you have to have some distance to get through the day. I wonder if Chanel No. 19 will always smell like mayhem now?

rtamara ponders:
Couldn't it be smells like "made it safely through the storm?" instead? It's SUCH a nice fragrance.
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post #10 of 12
10/23/06 at 6:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rtamara41

rtamara ponders:
Couldn't it be smells like "made it safely through the storm?" instead? It's SUCH a nice fragrance.

I'm definitely leaning in that direction --I think Chanel No. 19 is too good to pass on.

And the "dewey" rose in question was Nahema. On second though, maybe more juicey and humid than dewey (<sheepish> you can tell I'm new here </sheepish>) but definitely a contrast to Une Rose's dryness, I think.

Any fans of G.'s Rose Barbare? That's another one I' like to try (when not feeding kids etc.) I'm collecting samples so I can decide which one(s?) to put on my xmas list.
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post #11 of 12
10/23/06 at 8:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by emfoley

I'm definitely leaning in that direction --I think Chanel No. 19 is too good to pass on.

And the "dewey" rose in question was Nahema. On second though, maybe more juicey and humid than dewey (<sheepish> you can tell I'm new here </sheepish>) but definitely a contrast to Une Rose's dryness, I think.

Any fans of G.'s Rose Barbare? That's another one I' like to try (when not feeding kids etc.) I'm collecting samples so I can decide which one(s?) to put on my xmas list.


Nahema! In the words of Meg Ryan, "Yes, YES, YES!
I still have some of my decant, but it's getting low!
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post #12 of 12
10/24/06 at 3:06pm
Wow, Chanel No.19, roses and Parfum Sacre - among my own favourites. I have loved No.19 for a good few years now but have only recently been drawn to rose scents. As you like Rose Essentielle perhaps you might be interested in trying Red Roses by Jo Malone, a beautiful, unpretentious true rose scent which does have good lasting power.
Parfum Sacre is a new favourite which I have only had for about a month (I have a decant). I wanted to try a Caron scent and was somehow 'drawn' to this one after reading the Caron website and then definitely persuaded after reading the Basenotes reviews of it. A beautifully blended scent with an ethereal quality I think - one reviewer writes that a Caron fragrance is 'an experience' and based on this one scent alone I couldn't agree more. I am looking forward to reading your impressions of it.
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