June 2009 ~ Purchases - Page 3

turquoisewater ! You're back - sounds like you have an excellent trip ! Lucky girl !

How about "Earl Grey Bouquet"? All kidding aside, is sounds pretty, and your other purchases sound great, too!


Happy Birthday, Libertine! What great gifts!!!

Turquoisewater, welcome home! Sounds like you had a wonderful time.

Mitsouko edp, L'heure Bleue edp, Tumulte by C. Lacroix, Nikos, Fendi Theorema, Fendi Theorema Esprit d'ete, Arpege Homme, Ambre Gris, Encre Noir, Vol de Nuit, Violette Precieuse and Shalimar Light.

Oh, Shite!

Thanks to Somebody's (Thanks Kumquat) recommendation about LesSenteurs, I went ahead and purchased Borneo 1834 and Knize 10. Only place I've been able to find either, and thought I had better get them while I could find them. Unplanned, but kind of necessary, under the circumstances, right??

I've been a bad, bad, mama.

Bought lots of perfume I didn't need, but I wanted. It was those d*@! sales! (and my weak will)
Over the past two weeks (it was my birthday on the 13th after all!) I've managed to purchase:
L'Artisan Passage d"Enfer, Vanillia, The Pour Un Ete, Mure Et Musc, Dzing!
Serge Luten Douce Amere
Annick Goutal Eau d'Hadrian edp & edt (in the pretty butterfly splash bottle), Heure Exquise
and the other 3rd of the Memoire Liquide rollon set with Blackcat & debborah that I created. Mine is dark honey, black tea, lemon, various citrus oils & sandalwood.
We tried several Annick Goutals with Tom Crutchfield at Bergies last Saturday. I fell in love with the scent of all three of the Les Orientalistes layered together. Today I bought them from andyfrog on ebay.
Like I said....bad mama!

BUT......I am celebrating. My daughter is graduating elementary school with all A's. (OK, OK...so that's reaching a bit. The AG EdH butterfly bottle IS a gift for her.) AND my husband got a 6 month contract today for a job! He's been out of work since 1/30.

That is great news RHM! I sure hope the economy is turning around for everybody...

Today I received my "birthday" bottle of PdN Le Temps d'une Fete--cute little 30ml thing I wore it today from my sample, and wow, it is so awesome, like a spring bouquet in full bloom!

Today I received a bottle of Cologne du 68, purchased from a very nice Basenoter.
I like it better than the samples I have. Perhaps because I get a more per spray and it difuses better.
Very lovely.

Today I received a decant of Lyric for Women, by Amouage.

It is a stunner, isn't it?

How are you liking it? I have been debating getting a sample of it; I know Nostalgie likes it.

Elariia Wisteria 1.7 oz/50 ml EdT $4.99 at T J Maxx.

You deserve these! Plus, I can attest to how lovely the Les Orientalistes and RHM's own concoction smelled on her. Gorgeous!

I think it's very beautiful! I tested it last year during the holiday season, and I see it as a fragrance I'll wear for special occasions during the cool months. It's a very rich and complicated fragrance, I think. If you would like my sample, I could top it off from my decant and send it to you. Please PM me your address!

I think I may be starting to develop a problem with fragrance buying, but I don't want to do anything about it yet :P Just saw a nice Etat Libre scent on the marketplace, already one of them was gone though
There are still 2 bottles on the way to iceland too

Thanks to Ms Chaya's description (basically a Diorella's and Cristalle's love child), I have ordered from EL, Private Collection Jasmine White Moss. I'm blaming her and taking no responsibility for my actions

Just ordered samples of CdG Kyoto, 10 Corso Como, and Profumum Acqua di Sale, since I was already ordering soap. I restocked my Catherine Memme soap (Amande) and tried to get a few man-friendly soap options for my dear: I got a Napa Valley Olivina and a Nesti Dante in Lettuce. Hopefully they're not too pungent for him, he can be a little picky with scent.

L'Artisan's Mure et Musc. My first fragrance purchase in two years with the exception of half a dozen samples. I can't wait to open it tomorrow morning.

SL Louve from a lovely Basenoter.
Loving it!!!

I bought Essence of Jerusalem EDP

L"artisan's Tuberose. I realize now that these tuberose perfumes are for me. I remember 1 and 2 yrs ago reading perfume ingredients and not knowing what "tuberose" was. Don't you love knowing more about perfume in general year after year?

Shailmar EDP coming via Reirien and Shalimar EDT and body lotion from my darling DH.

Your first purchase in two years!!??!! You really know the meaning of retention and self-control!

I just bought Leonard l'Orchidee edt sample to test:
Top notes are black currant, peach and bergamot; middle notes are tuberose, jasmine and orchid; base notes are sandalwood, vanilla and cedar.

A sample of Jean d'Albert Ecusson with top notes of Sicilian lemon, cassie absolute, iris and aldehydes. Middle notes of ylang-ylang, geranium, jasmin, violet leaves, carnation and rose. Dry down notes of musk, vetiver, oakmoss, vanilla, sandalwood and powdery notes.

And a mini of Naj-Oleari with top notes of Muguet, Coriander . Middle Notes of Rose, White Freesia, Clear Jasmine. Base notes White Musk, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Vanilla.

Iris Pallida, L'Artisan

Didn't mean to buy anything today, but I was out and about and couldn't help finding stuff. L'Occitane was having a sale. I got the last Roses des 4 Reines solid perfume in a cute little tin for under $7. I think it's being repackaged, so it was on sale. It's really lovely and I had wanted a rose fragrance for some time now. Good purchase!

Then I stopped by TJ Maxx and they had L'Instant Magic for $39.99. It was my first unsniffed purchase for quite some time, although I've been reading about this fragrance lately. Based on the notes and reviews, I thought I would really like this. Well to be perfectly honest, if I had sniffed this before, I might not have purchased it because it is nothing really special on my skin. But it's ok and I do think there will be days when I will reach for this.

I did manage to sidestep the usual landmines. B&BW is having a sale and I usually can't resist the cheap thrill of getting some of their body sprays and/or lotions, which would be fine if I actually used them. I restricted myself to only getting some antibacterial hand soaps, and these I do use up quickly. The Body Shop was also having a sale and I bought nothing.

Half price bottle of Angel Extrait.

Yesterday I bought bras from Victoria's Secret--does that count? They were on sale

Well, heck, Asha, why not? You've got to back up those vintage bras once in a while!

Yesterday, I had a rare day of shopping in a semi-urban downtown. Besides buying a new purse and an on-sale pair of sandals, I did some testing at Nordie's and Sephora. Ended up with a sample of Dior Escale a Portofino after spritzing it and finding it very interesting. (Just realized: I forgot to check on the new EL Jasmine White Moss -- damn!)

My "big" fragrance purchase was a deeply discounted ($17!!!) gift set of India Hicks Spider Lily at Crabtree & Evelyn. I can tell that it will be a good summer travel fragrance for me. Here's the manufacturer's description:


The tropical floral, green, and citrus elements seem to be nicely balanced in this one!

In yesterday's mail (which I just got today), my partial bottle of Guerlain Chamade vintage PdT arrived--awesome eBay find!

Satelite's Padpadarscha,
Heely Cardinal
Corso Como
Andy Tauer L'Air du desert marocain
impulse buy - Etra
plus some 30 samples.
Increasing household budget deficit has never been so much fun!

I went down to Orlando yesterday. Orlando is quite a drive (two hours plus) that takes me from what I have helpfully termed Ruralia to a terrifying fake city that has Oz-like qualities for me because it is has the best shopping in Florida; it has become a destination to which I point myself when I feel as if I need a reminder that I did used to live in Los Angeles. That's the once-upon-a-time part that keeps me hurtling southwards on the I-75 despite the knowledge that niche fragrances other than Bond are not available.

Orlando is a manicured sprawl that I find somewhat disturbing. There is a Whole Foods (a beacon, truly) that can only be accessed from this major highway by finding a way to cycle around Universal Studios. There is the Mall at Millennia, now an oasis of desperation since it contains Neiman's and Bloomingdale's and we all know they can't give anything away these days. The Florida Mall mirrors a crappy mall in Tampa by having a Saks anchor in a mid-range, generic mall; this Saks has had the best selection of fragrance in Central Florida. Then there are two outlet malls (Prime and Premium) that are full of merchandise made expressly for them and a much-admired Barney's Outlet that, upon inspection, is out of style by a full season and at that unexciting.

Everything new in Orlando reeks of urban planning. Condo complexes handily adjacent to the Millennia Mall ride high on grass that appears to have been subjected to a Marine buzz cut. A distinct lack of trees marks these complexes that have no resort but to bake in the sun. Across the boulevard are small ranch-type homes from the 1960s in complexes with upscale names like Carrollwood or Windfield; these appear now to be Hispanic neighborhoods that must feel forced to admire the thrust of those condos across the street. Elsewhere, shabby little circles and drives loop you by out-of-business gas stations and confusing street signs; all roads lead either to one of the entertainment meccas or to International Drive (which, for your perfumistas, has two of those stores that sell mainstream scents and a form of smell-a-like with the most hopeful packaging. This is not Parfums de Coeur territory. I have some idea that they wish people would buy these imitations bec. I am fairly sure the markup on them is higher).

Sometimes I have the impression that the whole of Orlando is an urban biosphere that is watched, 24 hours a day, by a giant, all-seeing eye. It's suspiciously clean, especially where money might be spent. Everything gleams, and it isn't just that blinding sun making everything appear so sterile. Bathrooms are spotless and there is every effort made to dazzle the shopper with spectacle, even if said spectacle is merely a discount coupon or a free chicken wing as you walk, blinded, past a chain restaurant that has on its "porch" a man with a big white smile who appears to be playing Calypso music. He's dressed in a tropical shirt that has pineapples on it and he is probably tuneless; behind him he has a boombox that plays the music while he makes excited trills on the steelpan and inveigles you to do something foolish, like eating at that restaurant.

Elsewhere, have you ever been lost on one of those roads in Disney or Universal? They are all designed so you cannot escape. If you try, you will be met with a strict motoring code that virtually ensures you are delivered right back to the front gate: No U-turn, no left turn, no turn on red, turn back, O, Man, to the temple gates!

It is by this system that the lost motorist is mandated to do something illegal. The ticket will arrive in six weeks, in the mail. One day this system will be improved and the ticket will arrive immediately on your cell phone, but please don't try to view this while you are still trying to escape. We don't want you to leave. We love you.

A couple of friends of mine went to Disney for a birthday. The birthday girl got in free and the pair split a Caesar salad. These two are fairly poor and have no fixed address. They tour with medieval fairs, enacting a skit with a mythological creature that has been made out of insulation material and cardboard. They spent two hundred dollars the day they went to Disney, and as Lisa was telling me about their outing, all I could think was: That would have bought most of a bottle of Attrape Coeur.

I bought Stella body cream, something I've wanted since my rediscovery of Stella some months ago. The scent is true to the parfum and I find its sharpness to be sublime. I think I will wear it when I take another road trip, this time to rural Alabama. The South is a weird place. There is much to miss out on.

Dzongkha - L'Artisan Parfumeur

Orion! Love your hearing about your trippy trip to the malls. I think the fake facade in this country that the powers that be want us to swallow is starting to come undone. I think we've been had, but I also think people are starting to wake up to what is really going on. I dont mean to sound cryptic but I think it's high time we take this country back from the swindlers! Just say'in.

I, too, read Orion's post with interest, having visited Florida a few times in recent years and being the art director of a magazine for that state's plumbing-heating-cooling trades (which means I know more about their building codes than any northern woman should). I think Disney's storefronts inspired the retooling of strip malls everywhere. And while that imagined-Old World styling is more pleasing than some incarnations, all is facade. Here's hoping authentic regionalism gains appreciation. The sign in front of our house reads: On this site a sense of history prevails: in architecture, artifact, landscape and wildlife.

Dismounts soap box.

To make this post an honest placement, maybe I should go buy something?

a 10ml. mini of Eau de Rochas EDT.

Dior Escale a Pondichéry

I bought a Prada 1.7 EDP with 8 lip balms for 19.99 at TJMaxx today.

Ayala Moriel parfum - a gift from my DH.

Ricci Man Vintage.

It was a happy day!
My order from parfum1 came today!
All were well researched blind buys.

Caron - Bellodgia edp.
Caron - Montaigne edp.
Ombre Rose edt.
Theorema Esprit D' ete.

With the 25% off it all came to $81.00. No shipping.
Time to start sniffing!

Wowsers Zib! That is an incredible steal!

I just bought a bottle of L'Eau Trois to share with a few friends. I just don't know whether I hate myself more for buying it at such a ridiculous price or that I agreed to take just 20ml.
I also wonder if that's going to be the "Maggi" version or not.

Just did a blind buy of Tauer Une Rose Chyprée with a combination of a luckyscent gift certificate and money I "earned" by working out (I pay myself $1 for every mile on the treadmill).

I was trying to decide between URC and Etat Libre d'Orange Jasmin et Cigarette. Given all the love for the latter showing up in today's thread, I hope I didn't make a mistake. Oh well, I guess there's always swaps if it doesn't work out.

I bought Jasmine et Ciggarette blind of a bn-er, so if I dont like it you'll probably see it on the marketplace in due time. I hope I like it though :P