SotD Monday 22 February  

Après L'ondée by Guerlain

Jicky today. Have a great day !

My SOTD is Halston Man. Have a great Monday!

Notes include citrus, artemisia, passion fruit, lavender, pennyroyal mint, cardamom, patchouli, labdanum and musk.

Annick Goutal : Encens Flemboyant

I am testing the very lovely Eau Suave (thank you dear Ida!)
and enjoying the peppery, saffron introduction, that heralds
the arrival of the main player - a tea rose - accompanied by apricot and
peach maids of honour. All the time in the background I
catch whisps of oakmoss and vanilla.

My bottle of Nu EDP arrived this morning so that's my SotD. The hinge in the bottle is excruciatingly squeaky!

Thanks to a sample from Quarry - the sweet smell of cherries this ayem....Cartier's Delices. After a fresh citrusy opening there's sweet/tart cherries, a hint of tonka and the soft hum of patch in the drydown.

Or - to quote the card notes...."Carnal pleasure and moving femininity of patchouli and vanilla"!! I'm really luvvin' it.

Day Two in Krigler Lovely Patchouli. I rarely go on frag-wearing jags but I can see it happening with this one. There's an offbeat note in it that smells like wet stones that I can't seem to get enough of. Addictive.

Take care, everyone!

Good morning!

I will be sprtizing Elizabeth Taylor's Gardenia and dabbing Terranova Gardenia perfume oil.

May the week ahead grant you ample opportunities to test your wings and soar with majesty...

The seven days of 5 star fragrances continues this Monday, and today it is one of my favorites' turn.

Chanel Coromandel was love at first sniff for me. I used to scent my sheets with patchouli oil to get that sweet, earthy smell around me, but I never really wanted to wear patch oil. Coromandel bridges the gap between beautiful perfume and the note many of us love. It is the discreet blending of patchouli in all it's herbal wonder, without the edges that can make it veer into hippie territory. It is sweet with subtle spices, but yet cooled by iris. It is herbal, but then cocoa softens it into an elegant patchouli. The ambery, cocoa drydown I also enjoy.

I have other patchouli prominent fragrances, but this one is easily dress up if needed. It gets it's 5 star rating from me for making me feel beautiful while wearing patchouli, for it's balance and blend.

Kenzo's UFO for a medical test, followed by friend-hopping: have 3 houses to visit today.....it's like Christmas!

Have a great and happy day everyone!

Oh no! I just broke the lid of my bottle of Nu. At least it won't squeak now

This warmer but gloomy, overcast morning it's Polo Modern Reserve

Joining tdem in Lovely Patchouli. It is truly lovely. I do get the "wet stones" whiff and am mesmerized.

It is one of the strangest bottles! Don't know whether it reminds me of a compact or a contraceptives container!

To gird my loins for the week, I am wearing Ubar this morning.
Spent the night in Noa..

Have a great today, ya'll!

Above. It's cold and icy out today.


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Balmain de Balmain SotD

This scent is becoming catnip for me.......must ask husband to wear it so I can snuggle and huff his neck instead of my arm.

Smell Bent's Incensed - a nice subtle incense. I have a headache today and can't handle anything louder! ;-)

Back at Stately somerville Manor after my crazy week in New York at Fashion Week. The sad thing is I didn't get to check out any of the fragrance stops in NYC because I was so darn busy chasing Fashion Shows.
Happy Belated bithday wishes to any I missed last week and positive vibes to those who need them.

Wearing my Valentine's Day present today.

Dior Fahrenheit Absolute

One of the earliest fragrances I can remember trying which made me realize there were florals besides rose for men was 1988’s Dior Fahrenheit by Jean-Louis Sieuzac and Maurice Roger. The violet at the heart of Fahrenheit would set a course for me for years of enjoyment of the slightly astringent aspect that violet brings to a scent. Now, in 2009, 21 years after the release of the original a new flanker Fahrenheit Absolute has been released in which the press materials promise a more intense and darker version of the original. Based on that description this felt like a Fahrenheit that would fit my 21st century sensibilities.

I haven’t been the biggest fans of the other Fahrenheit flankers because they all tamper too much with the formula that makes the original Fahrenheit work so well. By surrounding a floral core with spices, woods, and amber; Fahrenheit was an easily wearable men’s fragrance. The other flankers went astray when they either obliterated the violet or amped up the top notes. What makes Fahrenheit Absolute work so well is this time the perfumers chose to intensify the heart and base and create a richer more opulent version.

The top of Fahrenheit Absolute begins with the same lavender and bergamot as in the original but this time the lavender is kept on the sharper side and it creates an edgy beginning that wasn’t present before. This works well because the violet in the heart complements this beginning as the tartness of that comes into play soon after and then a mix of myrrh and incense take the violet and add a resinous sweetness that makes the heart of Fahrenheit Absolute intoxicatingly different than its predecessor. This interplay of resins and violet continues into the heart where one of the rawest leather notes I’ve encountered in a mainstream perfume resides and it adds a raw edge to things. This leather accord is very similar to the accord in Etat Libre D’Orange’s Vierges et Toreros. It is the smell of the hide just after it has been treated in a tannery and it is very primal and I like it, a lot. The traditional mix of oriental elements complete the development of Fahrenheit Absolute in a soft swirl of amber, musk, and patchouli but it is the combination of violet, resins, and leather that bring Fahrenheit Absolute alive. The note list shows the presence of oud and maybe I’m just suffering from oud fatigue but I just don’t detect it. It might be part of the rawness of the leather accord and that’s where I’m missing it but it never comes out in a way that I can identify it. If you’re looking for an oud version of Fahrenheit this might not be the perfume your looking for.

Fahrenheit Absolute has excellent longevity and above average sillage.

I am not the biggest fan of flankers as too often they seem to exist solely to make money and not as an artistic riff on the original inspiration. It is nice to find exceptions to those assumptions as Fahrenheit Absolute is absolutely a fragrance that stands on its own artistic legs quite nicely, thank you.

Have a Mad (in a wild and fun way) Monday everyone.

Decided to log in from univesrity today ( been here since 8...which is 8 and a half hours already!) Leaving to have dinner with my dad ans sister soon,though. scentwise I'm joining the Guerlain gang in Vol de nuit for me. Second day in a row I wear Guerlain now. Guerlain week maybe? Hope you all are doing great today!

Hello everyone!

Continuing with cello's 5-Star Fragrance Party, I'm in the radiant L'Instant de Guerlain (...which also puts me in good company today at the Guerlain House Party.) I actually feel that choosing this is cheating because I wear it so frequently, but this is what I need at the moment. Aside from being just plain gorgeous and voluptuous, its sunny, honeyed warmth is the perfect foil to this cold, gray day.

Because I enjoyed it so much yesterday I'm wearing Chanel 31 Rue Cambon again.

It's a long-ish day today at work, and Diana and I are still riding high on yesterday's news, so I wanted something long-lasting that I really enjoy.

Bond No. 9 Wall Street

Scent twins today with Potiron in Chanel 31,rue Cambon.
My first day back at work after a vacation, so I needed something that would be both polished and calming. So much happened while I was away, I almost need smelling salts to keep me from fainting from the pile of work I encountered this morning. Oh well, time to make lists.
Have a great day everyone!

Bravo, Antaeus. Well said.

Joining in the fun of the seven days of five-star fragrances.
Wearing Mitsouko and waiting for drydown good part.

Evangeline, you smell yummy! And it is not cheating to wear your 5 star fragrances often as you like! I really think that is probably what we are supposed to do

Now, could you please feed that poor model. There is something terribly wrong about her arm, and I am hoping it is just the angle or something.

Ha! You're right - I can't believe I didn't notice that strange arm-like appendage where her arm should be.

Testing L'Artisan Premier Figuier Extreme... I think I've found my perfect fig scent!

Cologne du 68 by Guerlain (from my new bottle!)

Egoiste (Chanel)

Congratulations! Is it as fig-tastic as you'd always imagined it would be??

Chanel Beige.

Another Guerlain wearer here,

Nahema again.

It's my inaugural wearing of my latest blind buy: Cuir de Lancome. My bottle cap and sprayer is still jacked up, but I guess I can live with it.

Happy Monday to all!

A snowy day here, wearing Shaal Nur.

Christian Dior's Ambre Nuit Cologne

Test driving Mitsouko Fleur de Lotus. This is very well done and is FBW. Now if Guerlain would make it easier to purchase.

Hope everyone is having a good Monday. Take care, all!

Started off the morning with my sample of Ego Facto's Prends Garde a Toi. WTF? It smells like a light green floral with honeydew melon, tapering off to a wimpy jasmine. I don't think Carmen smelled like honeydew melon. Not that honeydew melon and green floral jasmine are bad, it's just the cognitive dissonance induced by the name.

Once this unfortunately named melonball fiasco wears off, I'll be sampling Fred Miller's Above, the men's version.

Joining the seven days of five star fragrances, I am in

24, Faubourg

This is so close to a Holy Grail for me!

Damien Bash Lucifer No 3 on one wrist, Armani Sensi on the other. Strange but true!

Hi again!

After Pilates, shoveling huge mounds of snow and showering, I took the opportunity to log another 5-Star Fragrance, and like L'Instant, I seem to reach for this one all the time! I know you've given me permission to count these, cello, but next time I'm going to make an effort to choose something I wear less frequently.

But for now I'm in an opulent cloud of Clinique's Aromatics Elixir. It's perfect.

I wore Keiko Mecheri Ume again today and received a compliment so it is now on my wishlist where it will probably remain for a very long time until I can afford it!
Tried some others today:
Teo Cabanel Alahine is a beautiful, soft, feminine, smoky amber which lasts forever on me. It is not overpowering which is a big plus as I much prefer softer ambers to the bolder ones (e.g Ambre Precieux which is a gorgeous perfume but too strong for me);
applied Cartier Panthere and instantly I know I'm not glam enough to wear this big perfume but I do have a friend who is and I think she will love it; also tried Apparition, incredibly sweet, and am I right in saying this is linear (never sure about 'linear' but Apparition doesn't seem to change at all).

Guerlain Homme Intense from a sample.
Thanks A!

Helmut Lang Cuiron tonight, Thanks and a tip of the hat to the generousity of Taolady

Kinda sick today, spent most of the day in bed.

Tan Giudicelli Annam for a 5 star fragrance. Can't smell it anyway. Very hard to come by and very nice.

Welcome to the new member taketheair, I love Balmain de Balmain -- Miss Tao sent me a bottle when I did not know how to get it -- and it is my other 5 star fragrance, sweet and quite addictive.

Declaration Cartier Pour Homme
Gary

Hi all!

Today I tested my last Odin, 03 Century.



Rosewood, and lots of it.

I been giving some thought to the 5-star week and I just don't want to waste my special favorites on workdays, so I'll have 5-star evenings.

So I'll be wearing Bond No. 9 New Haarlem to bed tonight...

Jubilation 25

Lovethescents, what fun!! Sharing your fabulous good news, no doubt!

Twolf, sorry you're not feeling well... there's something cruel about BNers getting too sick to sniff. Here's hoping it passes quickly!

Cello, you smell stunning! Coromandel is swoon-worthy stuff. I'd join you in your Five Star Frags if I owned more of them. Doing my best with what I got.

Hi all. My five-star choice for today was/is Havana Vanille.
Feel better soon, Twolf!

SotD today was the new Guerlain Tonka Imperiale, a sample from a clever elf

The good news...well, I like it very much. It hits all the marks that an oriental should, and seems simultaneously classic and modern with tonka, opoponax and leather notes. The top is soft and inviting with subtle cherry almond and leather along with the tonka. The drydown is powdery and sweet. It is as if I am on an axis with Habit Rouge on one end, Dior Homme on the other, when suddenly a woman wearing L'Heure Bleue walks by--what could be better?

The not-so-good news...it reminds me of the much cheaper Les Nereides Imperial Opoponax and of a bottle already in my wardrobe, Miller Harris Fleur Oriental. I can also see some strong similarities to Old Spice.

Slight change of plans on this day two of five-star week, as I noted in cello's thread. I was given a delicious surprise gift yesterday.

Borneo 1834



This one was on one of Perfume Posse's must-smell lists (101 or 201, I don't remember) as being a singular oddity in the perfume world. Maybe it was that statement alone that got me so excited to try it. When one of my early enablers, the long-absent and much missed lizzie j, sent me a huge decant, I was stoked. But it wasn't, as it turned out, my cup of tea. That which I enjoyed in incense form did not translate so well on my skin. I gave half the decant away.
A few months ago I felt like challenging myself and Borneo called to me.

Then, it blew my mind.

I used up all but a couple sprays of my decant, so I could sniff it from time to time and let my eyeballs roll back into my head. I didn't figure on ever owning a bottle.
My uncle mentioned he was going to Paris over Christmas, so I asked him to bring me a sample if he happened by the Serge boutique. He tracked the boutique down for me and bought me the full bottle. I finished off my decant last night.