Today was female fragrance testing day

Today I took a break from testing male fragrances and tried a few female fragrances instead. I've tested a few things before. I recall testing Chanel No. 5 and Guerlain Shalimar (both on paper), and not being impressed. Lolita Lempicak was more catchy, and Chanel Chance was my favorite of everything I've tested.

Now the commercial for YSL Elle always did something to me. I love the ad and the song so much I edited the original song to make it sound like the commercial, and made it my ring tone (here). So today, I had to try Elle. I asked about it, and the SA sprayed me three times on one spot and it was just too much Elle on my hand. The initial blast was overwhelming. My nose and my eyes closed, and I was repelled. The directory says top notes are Lychee, Citron, Peony. I have no idea what that smells like, but I didn't like it. In a few minutes it got better though, and I started to think it was just "okay." Now it's been a few hours and the dry down is beautiful, but it kept me waiting for too long. Before that it was not that good and quite generic. Overall, 3/5.

I also tested Cinema, and it easily beats Elle. From top to bottom this is a great fragrance, and will definitely consider it as a gift for any coming occasion. 4/5.

I asked for L'instant Magic but it wasn't available. The SA pushed Guerlain My Insolence on me, and I liked it *very* much initially, but now it is giving me a headache. It is literally making me sick. Also tested L'Instant de Guerlain and this was nice all the way.

I have smelled Miss Dior Cherie on many occasions, and by far it is my favorite female fragrance. I have not smelled any other Dior though. Should I?

It was the EdT. I usually like the men's Guerlains so I was expecting much more from the females'. Some were really okay but I was expecting to instantly fall in love, which did not happen.

Thank you for the suggestions, I will definitely try those next time.

Today I was helping a friend pick a new fragrance for himself. I few times while he was busy testing I sneaked to the female fragrance counters in search for something breathtaking. I found many.

I took your advice and started with Dior. I tested four Dior fragrances, starting with J'Adore. It amazed me from first sniff, and it remained my favorite until I got home with the paper strip that has Midnight Poison. I'm starting a list of my top five female fragrance, Midnight Poison is on it. I went on testing two other Dior's. Pure Poison and Addict. Addict caught my attention, but Pure Poison did not do very well.

Moving on from the Dior counter, I went to Givenchy and smelled Very Irresistible. I was really impressed initially. I kept sniffing it over and over as we went on testing, and I kept liking it more. The paper strip is in my hand right now, and sniffing this again, I don't know if it took a bad turn or did my nose get very tired. Will definitely give it (and the EdP) a skin try though, on a not so busy day.

And then I arrived at the main event for the evening. The Hermes counter. I smelled three Hermes fragrances, and they are all just breathtakingly beautiful. And yes, I think I found a rival for Miss Dior Cherie for my number one female fragrance: Eau des Merveilles (EdP, have not tested the EdT). Words escape me trying to describe how beautiful I think this is. Very pleasant scent that it makes me smile every time I smell it. Will skin test this very soon. Tested Kelly Calèche, and it also easily found its way to my favorites list. Un Jardin sur le Nil had a strikingly pleasant initial blast (grapefruit and mango the directory says, Ellena is a true artist).

Next time I am going to skin-test Eau des Merveilles, both EdP and EdT, Kelly Calèche, and Very Irresistible EdP. Any comments on these fragrances?
Thanks!

Twolf, I did not find Diorissimo, Diorella or Diorama. I think I saw Dune but did not test it this time. Will definitely remember to, next time.
Divatologist, L'instant Magic is still not there. I see the posters in the stores everywhere but the fragrance is always not there. That says it's pretty popular here. I absolutely adore the commercial, can't wait to give this a test.

Eau des Merveilles and Kelly Calèche, anyone?
I've searched the boards over and over but something is still not very clear to me: How many versions Merveilles has? And does each version come in EdT and EdP? I'm so confused now. I've seen the following being mentioned on the board:
- Eau des Merveilles
- Elixir des Merveilles
- Parfum des Merveilles
IIRC, there was two different bottles at the shelf (don't remember the colors now), I assumed one was the EdT and the other the EdP. I asked to test the EdP and the SA pointed to one of them and I tested it. Was that really Elixir des Merveilles that I've tested? I'm not sure. Anyway I'm now so hooked on this fragrance I am going to have to give it a whole testing day, giving all the versions that I find a skin test (and this time reading the labels carefully).