"Pass the Parcels" Reviews and Thoughts

Hello "Pass the Parcels" friends:

I have just finished testing the samples that Doc Elly sent as "my" contribution to the circle. I very much enjoyed these fragrances, and I'm anxious to read your reviews on them. There are 5 Orchid scents, 4 "Scents of Place", and 5 "Perfumer's Perfumes". I have tested two at a time, usually in the evenings, one on each wrist using a small dab of each. Doc Elly kindly provided a description of each scent, and since I am still training my nose to recognize the notes in fragrances, I read each description as I tested. I am only going to mention the notes that I could identify, though - most of you, if not all, will be better than I am at this. The longevity was fairly good on me - almost every scent lasted 3+ hours with only a small amount. I'm pretty sure I would have to apply sparingly with a spray. While each scent was pleasant (no scrubbers for me!), there were several that drew my particular attention, and so I will summarize those here.

Most liked:
Red Cattleya - a fruity floral fragrance whose notes of melon and peach really appeared on my skin. Sweet and tasty, this was a lovely floral scent for me.
Golden Cattleya - Oh my. This was gorgeous. Very warm and sunny, I could smell a faint-but-long-lasting orange note, and I'm pretty sure it was the narcissus that dominated the floral. I really enjoyed this scent, sweet but as golden as its name.
Siam Proun - I love greens and florals, particularly roses, and this was a delicious mix of both. Very fresh-smelling herbs (rosemary and basil, I think) over the rose note, each of which lasted all the way through the life of the scent. This is a very intriguing and delicious scent, in my humble opinion.

Least liked:
Fleurs de Glace - not because it doesn't smell good, but because it disappeared almost immediately. There was a very sharp note for a few moments and then nothing but a pleasant, faint watery vanilla scent.

Scent that made me go "hmmmmm....":
Little Stars - Okay, I'm a girly girl. I (almost) always have my toes painted, I love shoes with heels and sparkly flip flops and dangle-y earrings. You will never catch me with out my mascara. You get the idea. So when I smelled this fragrance, totally woods with a hint of spice on my skin, I really paid attention. This was a thoroughly masculine fragrance to me - I didn't get a single floral note, just woods. LOTS of woods. But it was interesting and intriguing. Opened my eyes, you might say. I'm not saying that Doc Elly intends this as a "guy" fragance, but that's how it came across to me. I have not yet intentionally sampled a fragrance marketed to males, but now I will be looking forward to seeing how the samples that come my way work on my skin. Huh. Who'd have guessed?

Most likely to be a Full Bottle buy (or at least a sample for more testing):
I am really torn between Golden Cattleya and Siam Proun, but if I had to choose, I think it would be Siam Proun. This is the one that I kept smelling every minute or two until I went to bed. With only a single small test, this is the one that is most interesting to me, because it has those prominent greens with a recognizable rose.

A note about the "Scents of Place" - to me, each of these really evokes the location that it is intended to represent. See what you think!

I will be sending this packet on to Hillaire, and will be anticipating each participant's reviews to compare to mine. Doc Elly, a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Thank you!

He he...

To me, Bois d'Ombrie basically smells like Avignon with a bottle of expensive Tuscan wine vinegar poured over it. I love it, but I included it more as a novelty than anything I expected people to actually like...

Today I wore Warum's vintage Houbigant Quelques Fleurs L'Original.

It was really nice, with aldehydic fruits over soapy musk. The heart had a sparkly grape note that smelled a lot like dry white wine, which I really liked.

I wrote a bunch more details in the Today I Sampled thread on the men's board, which is where I usually indulge my wordy side...

I'll add in a sample of (non-vintage) Quelques Fleurs Royale and get this mailed on soon...

Oh, you got it! Great!
I think our chemistries are very different -- I got a huge bouquet of flowers from this one for a couple of minutes and then a naughty tobacco leaf smell. Makes me think about those women back in the days who were women of the world, wore perfume and smoked cigarettes and that's the only way their children remembered them -- as completely adored and inaccessible mothers. That's why I don't feel like I can pull that one off very easily, having a caring/nurturing personality. Got very little aldehydes, by the way.

Feel free to review in lengths, I truly enjoyed your longer post on the sample male thread and am really happy that you got a compliment!

I received Doc Elly’s perfume sampler from Coopmom a couple of days ago.
(Thank you both.) And I have had a chance to smell them.

I’d like to mention how much I appreciate Doc Elly’s getting herself “out there” (brass ones ) and offering us all the opportunity to smell the perfumes she actually makes! It’s my hope that these scent vials (since they are generous) will continue to circulate among basenoters after our little circulation is complete.

She calls her fragrance line Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes. She has broken down her line into three separate categories: ‘Orchid Scents’, ‘The Perfumer’s Perfumes’, and ‘Scents of Place’.

On the whole, these have a sort of earth-wise, fantastical-realm, ‘naturalistic’ feel to them – if that makes sense – not unlike BPAL, or even aspects of SSS.

I need to qualify my lack of reviews for the Orchid series. But I felt that my inability to appreciate orchid-type florals made my considerations worthless. I do, however look forward to reading the impressions of the others in line to receive these, after me.


Scents of Place:

Arizona – IMO this was the stand-out best of the line. A somewhat-traditional, yet artisinal, spicy-woody scent, with a strong cinnamon and almost-animalic drydown. Shades of Halston’s classic Z-14 .

Carolina – A bit of a shape-shifter; I liked the direction I started off heading, which was into a breathy meadow of tulips and greenery. It quickly dissipated though, and I was very suddenly overtaken by a lamp-bergery ‘thick’ coconut and cinnamon and ultimately left with a coco-nutty caramel gourmand-ish scent. This one strikes me as two distinct scents sitting one on top of the other. One I like, one I don’t exactly care for. I’d be interested to smell that curiously un-citric and transparent green note developed further and ultimately be supported by something more intuitive, like fig leaves (Goutal’s Ninfeo Mio), peonies and musk (HdP’s Vert Pivoine) or even benzoins and woods ala PG’s Querelle.

Kingston Ferry – Another spicy woody, but this one was quite too camphorous and medicinal for me to “wear”. However, in theory, I am quite drawn to the liniment effect in perfumery, as in Cartier’s Baiser du Dragon… and I could imagine the bright woods of this one supporting something sweeter and more effervescent, like aldehydes and jasmine. I also registered a too-harsh hit of either pepper of freesia, which could have been toned down. I also thought the aquatic green (cucumber? melon?) element was superfluous.




Olympic Rainforest – I was immediately drawn to this notion, a lover of the whole rainforest concept as well as some rather “hippie” rain-inspired concoctions I have purchased for my bath and home. And it pretty much delivered. This one recalled my deeper past as a child of hippies, health-food-store aromatic oils and more-natural (pre-ozonic) notions of “water” as rendered by scent. I rather liked the sharp silvery accord in this (cinquefoil?), and would have liked it “cranked-up”. I wished cinnamon had played less of a role in this one, but I was not actually upset about it. I picked up on the successful integration of elements in this one and considered the overall effect very nice. My second favorite of the line. If I encountered a room scent that smelled like this, I’d likely buy it.


The Perfumer’s Perfumes

Olympic Amber – This reminded me of a compact of solid perfumes I had as a girl. It was by Coty and represented the “woods”. There were four little sections inside: sandalwood, patchouli, teak, and amber. (I have no idea how they determined what ‘teak’ smelled like, but it was the 70s and teak was big!) Anyway, that was quite a nice association, and this powdery, vaguely ‘dark’ amber really hit close to the Coty 70's-era-notion-of-amber mark.


Siam Proun – This one stared out very sudsy-soapy for me, like the smell of Joy dishsoap, actually. The very dominant orange and lemon notes underscored by more-‘sanitizing’ herbal smells, like thyme and rosemary, just did not allow me to get past the citrus-cleanser experience. I felt it wanting to stretch toward a quirky garden-inspired herbal chypre, like Eau du Soir, but it will need some genre re-working.

A Midsummer’s Day’s Dream – I was excited to experience another great, ultra-green start, ala Carolina, and hoped for a thoroughly green ride. I chuckled to smell the figginess and tart berries appear, as I clearly smelled its similarity to Ninfeo Mio, and enjoyed it. I very much appreciated its careful portioning of berry to fig, as a sort of unique ‘figberry’note appeared, which neither leaned on way nor the other, and evoked something unique, association-wise. (And if that isn’t what perfume should do, I don’t know what is.) I lamented the vanillic-amber siege that occurred after a spell, though; my 'green dream 'had come to an end. A well-blended, if fickle scent. I do now realise I’d like to have candles burning that smell like under-ripe, green figs and tart blackberries. Yum!


Fleurs de Glace – This one was described in the accompanying brochure as being ‘sharp and icy’, and it was. Sadly, I lack the aroma-chemical vocabulary to name the harsh, bitter green note that it introduces itself with, but it’s present in both Cristalle and the new Escale Dior series. I don’t dislike this note at all, but it was a hard thing to palate (I felt) totally-unobfuscated by artful top notes, like bergamot, or galbanum or neroli, which might have dissipated ‘just in time’ for it’s 'rough edges' to have softened. As soon as the caustic affront did ebb, though, sadly, I was once again overwhelmed by an onslaught of artificial vanillas. This one I bluntly did not ‘get’.

Hillaire's Amouage package arrived yesterday! I'll be reviewing these one at a time, as I go through them.

Amouage - Gold ( Men's )

This one has quite the reputation, and I can see why, though with all the Amouages I've tried up till now, I've found it balanced and not excessive.

Gold goes on slightly soapy and astringent on me, but not excessively so. I find it hard to tease apart the individual notes, but civet, rose, jasmine, and some other white floral touches lurk in the background in a very traditional, powdery treatment of the notes. I believe there may also be some frankincense in here, but it's not as prominent as what I smelled in Ubar or Gold for women.

As it dries down the soap fades and I'm in comfortable and oddly familiar territory. Things are skanky indeed down here, but not in the vein I've smelled in things like MKK, but rather like what I've smelled in some discontinued classics like Lanvin's My Sin parfum and La Nuit by Paco Rabanne. In fact I'd say the drydown is an almost exact midpoint between those two fragrances.

All in all Gold is quite wearable for me once the drydown is reached, but not FBW, as I'd rather just spring for a bottle of La Nuit, which while discontinued, is still readily available.

I've worn the woman's Gold and I can definitely see these as being closely related fragrances, but I'm kind of at a loss as to what makes them his and hers. Gold for women's overall accord can be best described as "skanky baby power" to my nose, and Gold for men's, "skanky floral soap". None of the usual "for men" additions like lavender, citrus, or woods.

All in all, another modern vintage fragrance from Amouage.

Glad to read your thoughts, Sugandaraja! I totally agree about the Gold men's and women's 'difference' being very vague. I wear the Man just as easily and comfortably as Woman. Gold Woman further has a metallic edge I find sort of 'manly'.
But don't forget.. that the Gold duo are actually vintage 'vintage' fragrances. They go 'way back' .

Wow. It actually predates La Nuit!

What did western guys in 1983 make of Gold for men, I wonder? That's long before the ambiguous unisex freshies of the '90s and the "it's all just scent" attitude that prevails on places like Basenotes.

Well, I'm sorry to report that the next one? Not so hot.

Amouage - Lyric Man

The top notes are decently pleasant - sort of a creamy-fresh rose, neither too overt or too subtle, nor interrupted by other entities.

The drydown is, well, disaster, at least on my skin. I can't muster one nice thing to say about it. It's like the entire fragrance just keels over and drowns itself in the smell of cheap, nasty laundry detergent.

It's a total scrubber for me - if only it would come off! This stuff is tenacious!

Amouage - Dia For Men

Now this, this I can really warm to.

The opening is a pleasant incense. I've grown accustomed to the "Amouage" incense note, and it's much subtler, lighter, and more "high pitched" than I generally run across. It's a clarinet to the trumpet of the more typical incense interpretations, and that note is highlighted here with an extremely subtle woody-floral back drop.

In the drydown with powdery woods, somewhat akin to those in the drydown of Clive Christian X For Men, but much smoother, softer, and accented with a touch of civet. There's something I really about the texture, the "feel" of the drydown I find hard to describe. "Silken" comes close.

As a "men's" companion to Gold it makes more sense to me than the men's Gold. Though woody-incense is an overpopulated field these days, Ciel is definitely a classy edition, and one of my favorite interpretations of this theme.

My parcel contains loads to try. I shall name and review as I go along. Bear in mind I'm not that expert on notes and may have them wrong, but I shall say what I think they smell like to me.

1- Heavenly Peach Banquet by Nukapai - Nice peach almond first notes. My skin rapidly turned this into a sweetie that I am very familiar with but couldn't identify. Something akin to those candy necklaces as a child. Then there was quite a harsh note like bitter almonds which persisted for a bit, but when this subsided it turned to something all soft and peachy and gentle. It is a playful perfume for a young girl. I would have liked it more with less of the harsh middle if it is work in progress.

2 - Tuscan Leather by Tom Ford - Creamy suede with a hint of tobacco appearing in a seamless gentle way. A real manly smell. I see a charming handsome mediterranean man in a dapper casual suit. He walks past you and you catch a whiff. It makes you want more, maybe a little snuffle behind his ears. The tobacco element develops further but never too strong. It fades gently like the memory of a good evening. The man goes to bed, all bathed, clean and smelling faintly of vanilla with some incense burning in a far away room..... Absolute winner for me. I would like my man to smell of this.

3 - Orange Blossom by Gorilla perfumes - Oooph. A powerful blast of spicy blossom. No shy entrance from this one. It's like a shotgun up the nose. The spicy part keeps it from being overtly floral. This is dangerously close to the love/hate line but just about stays on the good side. It then turned tuberosy on me and fades out gently that way. Quite pretty at the very end.

4 - Encens Flamboyant by Anick Goutal - A fast blast of frankincense spice like pink pepper and grapefruit together. It's fresh and zingy like lemon sherbet. A nice subtle strength too. I can imagine someone very fresh and sporty wearing this pleasant and light perfume. After a while a musky note appears underneath very softly. The whole thing is gentle and shortlived.

5 - Jasmin et cigarette by Etat Libre d'orange - A quiet blossom, soft and pure then goes muskyish. I quite liked this one but it didn't last long enough. Not much after just half an hour. I would have liked this to be more forceful than it is. I wanted more of it, but I would wear this on a hot day.

6 - Sweet lime and cedar by Jo Malone - A sharp blast of lime at first. It smells like a mans cologne. A clean washing powder sort of smell. I wouldn't mind it for washing powder but not as a scent. It may smell nicer on a man. Half an hour later it turned to fly spray on me. Sorry Jo, if I wasn't testing this it would be a scrubber. I actually hated this one.

7 - Gold by Donna Karen - Very rich, deep, creamy floral. A sort of enormous perfume not for the faint hearted. I'm picking up so many smells at once that I think it is a big muddle of a smell. It's like smelling the massive bouquets at weddings with gigantic lilies in the middle with a tiny hint of old vase water. I think the silage on this one would be too much for me. I only put such a tiny bit on, so I hate to think how smelly I would be with a normal amount on. I'm thinking big hats, flowery dresses and Ascot with this one. It becomes quite pleasant after a considerable time. It would need to be put on two hours before going out. Definitely not for the office.

8 - Roses et Chocolat by Ayala Moriel - This does exactly what it says on the box but really nicely done. A lovely bitter chocolate with such a lovely rose in the perfect combination. The proof of the nice art of perfume.

9 - Song of Songs by Ayala Moriel - Very familiar, like a liqueur that I could not name. It morphs to a gentle churchy smell with a warmth behind it. The ingredients belie its smell. I like this perfumers work in these two and it makes me want to try more of hers.

I have been testing the Vintage "greens" package from Mumsy the last few days. I love green scents, and the ones I have tested have been very enjoyable so far.

Ma Griffe by Carven - both vintage and reformulated - I tried these side by side, one on each wrist. The reformulated version was softer and a little sweeter on me, but disappeared in less than 30 minutes. The vintage version, on the other hand was very sharp at first, kind of disappeared in the middle, and then the cinnamon in the base note lasted for a
l-o-o-o-o-ng time. I love cinnamon in a perfume, too, so I liked that a lot. Maybe I'm immune to whatever is in the mid-notes?

Scherrer by Jean-Louis Scherrer - This was a cool, shady green to me. Longevity was very nice - I don't know about the sillage, but I could smell it wherever I went. Made me think of being deep in a forest. Not piney exactly, but cool and fresh smelling.

Chantilly by Houbigant - I don't get so much green from this one. Is it meant to be? It is a quiet scent on me, but very very pleasant. I get more of a floral mix, a faint orange whiff and a soft, powdery kind of vanilla dry down. I think I might like to find this, at least another sample, to see how it wears on me. If I didn't have to pass it on and allow others to try it, I would use the regular 5-6 sprays to wear to work tomorrow...

Mumsy, I liked your review of Tuscan Leather - particularly the part about
. I don't know you but I can picture it all the same....

The Chantilly wasn't meant to be a green. My package was greens and Houbigants. I'm sniffing as hard as I can with mine too.

10 - Gold by Donna Karen - Very rich, deep and creamy floral. A fulsome smell of all flowers together to me. I actually think this is a great big muddle of a smell, and far too strong.

11 - The scent of Peace by Bond no9 - A bit like one of those air fresheners in a car. Sharp and flowery at the same time with a metal twang. Smells cheap and nasty.

12 - Lust by Gorilla Perfumes - Blimey mate....It does what it says says on the packet. My husbands comment without knowing the name was 'bottom'. No further comment needed really. It took two washes to get it off too.

13 - The smell of Freedom by gorilla Perfumes - This is very strong. This is a quite nice citrusy, sandalwood, indian soap sort of smell in a perfume.

14 - Imogen Rose by Gorilla Perfumes - Another very strong one. The nicest of the four. An extremely powerful Rose Absolute with musky, slightly spicy notes.

All four Gorilla/Lush perfumes are incredibly strong. I think I would prefer them all watered down a bit. It's like smelling 100% essential oils. Maybe I am?

15 - Vanilla and Anise - Jo Malone - A powerful first blast of anise, settling down to an unexpected liquorice sweetie smell. A bit wierd but quite fresh. Both hers I have tested get turned a bit fly sprayish on my skin at first. I feel sure this is meant to be delicate. It gets softer at drydown.

I saw that a pomegranate is coming from Rogalal. Do you guys want me to hang on to these two Malones till that catches up?

16 - Insolence by Guerlain - A soft and pretty fruit/raspberries/flowers/cream with a hint of spices in a soft vanilla. Clear, understated elegance whilst remaining delicate. A wonderful first perfume for a young feminine girl. I would actually buy this for my daughter.

Do whatever you like, but I had intended it stylistically as part of the incense group. I've always found it makes more sense as woody incense with fruit than it does as a proper fruity scent.

Parfumerie Generale - Corps Et Ames

Wow, I must add to Hillaire's call of "Where's the talk?" on this one. Of course, it's part of one of my favorite sub-genres: rose chypres.

To my nose, Corps Et Ames forms a bridge between big, nocturnal voluptuaries like Knowing and Soir de Lune and clean, green, forest roses like Domeneco Caraceni and L'Ombre Dans L'Eau, melding the dense complexity of the former with the sharp intensity of the latter, the final result being something sophisticated, fierce, and mysterious.

To my nose it's geranium, galbanum, bergamot, moss, and I'm almost sure some cypress, all suspended in an intriguing transparent woodiness, like an opaque chypre heart inside a glass tree. It stays fresh, yet lasts seemingly forever, an unusual quality in a classically styled chypre.

I can't say my feelings are as simple as "I like it", but I feel I've experienced something innovative, beautiful, and artistic.

Grossmith Classics - Shem el Nessim

Powder assault! It's kind of like someone stole the almond note from the modern Farnesiana and presented it almost unadorned in an aridly sweet powder accord.

Sorry. Another scrubber!

Keep it up folks! This is so entertaining!

More in the green/Houbigant parcel from Mumsy:

Musk - Alyssa Ashley by Houbigant - This takes me back to junior high, when we all wanted to smell "sexy". Apparently, I have a different definition of sexy now, and it doesn't involve unwashed body parts. Although there are several light musks that I like (Mure et Musc most notably), sadly this is not one of them. This is all musk, all the time, with a little greasy metal thrown in. Ick.

On the other hand....

Yendi by Roberto Capucci - Yum. Yum, yum, yum. This, in contrast to the Scherrer I tested earlier, is a warm, soft green scent on my skin. It seems kind of salty somehow. I can't really pick up any specific note, and that might be because it's very well put together - or that I am totally incapable of defining something this good. Or both. I would buy this today, but I read in the directory that it's discontinued. Wa-a-a-h. Surely the rest of you wouldn't miss this when you receive Mumsy's parcel???

For Yendi, look on German e-bay. There are often little affordable minis to be had there, and occasionally a big bottle on American e-bay. Very pricy though for the big ones. It is my favourite smell of all time above all others..... so far.....

17 - Lavender & Italian Lemon by Potter & Moore - A lovely and uncomplicated cologne. Made with good quality ingredients and it shows. A beautiful blend for a summer day.

18 - Ormonde Woman by Ormonde Jayne - I'm getting a citrusy note like bergamot or green lemons with black pepper. Sophisticated and fresh for a hot day. Mid notes turn more spicy with something like oregano and lemon balm. It then softens to a creamier sandalwoody note with just a hint of the spices left. I love this and would consider buying it as a holiday fragrance.

19 - So New York by Bond no9 - Initially smells a bit sharp and plummy but settles down a bit to a soapy, fruity floral. It reminds me of Avon Treselle but not so fruity. It doesn't quite get unpleasant but isn't exactly terribly lovely either. Rather dull on me. It may smell lovely on someone else.

20 - Chinatown by Bond no9 - Something like lemongrass then tuberose with cedar or vetiver? It struck me that it was trying to be like a sweet and sour chinese dish. The mid notes come over all incense/fruity on me. Wierd, but not unpleasant.

21 - Fashion Avenue by Bond no9 - Floral? A Hyacinth with a tiny hint of spice? I'm not a floral wearer but I was surprised to like the impression of a single natural flower settling to a light floral musk on me. Never was I more amazed to read the ingredients bore no resemblance to what I thought I had smelt. Don't look this up before you smell it. Maybe my nose had just got really confused.

22 - Bleecker Street by Bond no9 - I was picking up citrus with green notes. This would be nice on an older man. It reminds me of my grandfathers era. It then turns a bit spicy. This one is just a nice smell rather than special.

23 - Saks Fifth Avenue for her by Bond no9 - Tuberose and sweetness. I just cannot abide this sort of smell. It rivals Versaces Blond for the worst tuberose in my humble opinion. A hideous scrubber for me. Sorry no 9 creators.

Thank you to all those who put in these perfumes. I've been having such fun with this box. That's me all done. My nose needs a rest. That was quite a sniffing marathon. All coming to you now coopmom....

Bah. I reviewed Gold twice and forgot this. (10 should have been)

10 - Noix de Tuberose by Miller Harris - With my personal hatred of tuberose, I very nearly didn't even try this on. What a good job I did. This is delightful. This presents all the good parts of tuberose and leaves all the brash parts out. This is gentle and nutty, drying to a gentle sweet amber. The only nice tuberose I have smelt so far.

Parfumerie Generale - Cologne Grand Siecle

Very pleasant, fresh, cologne-style fragrance with a lemon and neroli tilt. Like most colognes, very poor lengevity - a couple hours at most. Good for what it is, but I'm not sure I'd pay PG prices for a momentary refreshment.

Grosmith Classics - Phul-nana

Me and this line do not get along. Another intense powder-bomb, but this time shifted in a potpourri floral direction. Perhaps a hint of jasmine and tuberose, but emersed in an odd waxy floral powderiness I find off-putting.

Scrubber the third.

The last two scents from Mumsy's package that I tried:

Emeraude by Coty- I know this a classic. But on my weird skin it started off with a very sour, musty smell. Eventually, it dried down to a sweet vanilla that lasted quite a while, but I don't think it was worth the wait.

First by Van Cleef & Arpels- this scent was just okay for me. I didn't really get much past the first green blast, and while it calmed down pretty quickly, after that it was not very exciting. At least to me...

I didn't sample the Ivoire that Mumsy included, because I already know that I love it, nor the Cabotine, because I have already tried it as well. The winnersin this package for me was the Yendi and after that, the Chantilly. Thanks, Mumsy for the chance to try these, and they're off to Haunanil as soon as I get back from vacation with my family next week.

I am so thrilled you love C&A! And the Grand Siecle is prob my second fave PG.

And I am also happy to know I have a fellow Grossmith dis-liker out there. That stuff is 'GROSS'.

I've been a bit busy with the simian scent launch so I'll write up my reviews later. I did absolutely love Tuscan Leather by Tom Ford and I've also fallen for Cuir Beluga by Guerlain - but the former seems somehow more worth the investment, given that Guerlain's scent is mostly an ambery vanilla and those can be had for less than $250. Doesn't stop me liking it of course.

Mumsy - the Gorilla samples are at 15% of perfume in alcohol. That's the strength for some Eau De Parfums (they vary a fair amount; tend to be on the more diluted side these days though). Pure perfumes are sold at 20-40%. The full bottles from that range are actually at 20%.

I'd love to smell what you're smelling with the Heavenly Orange Blossom in the middle. It's not turned that way on the other people I've experimented on. Hmmm!

Have you ever breathed on your clean skin after being in the sun for a little while? Try huffing humid breath on the crook of your arm then quickly sniff your own body scent. My natural skin smell is like musky black pepper. That is what I add to all perfumes, so I don't enhance the pretty, delicate floral sides of a perfume, only the spices and resins and greens.

I am surprised the gorilla range aren't stronger than that. Maybe I was trying EDT's all around them and they just seemed that way. Or I may have been trying all the scents on too fast and had a very confused nose. That is highly possible. I wouldn't take my opinion too seriously. I am no expert at describing smells.

Mumsy, I love how you describe your own scent! I wish more people did that I smell kind of like cream, which means that many gourmands, vanillas and fruity florals go OTT on me. I really like chypres in particular on me, in terms of how they suit my skin. I turn everything soft and/or sweet. The Gorilla Lust (haha) smells very skin-scent-y on me after 2 hours. It's my favourite by far from the range. You smell the amber-ylang more than the jasmine for most of the time on me.

The other reason those samples seem so pokey is that Mark and Si like to use a lot of quite heady natural materials!

The gorilla lust went like nothing I can describe politely on me. My sister and I were rolling around in complete hysterics with tears rolling down our cheeks. (After a glass or two of wine I might add). We didn't consider that I should wear it out in public unless I wanted big trouble. It didn't smell quite like that on her. She turns all perfumes to soap in seconds. Funnily enough the Vivien Westwood boudoir which is supposedly skanky smells delicious and floral on her, and actually lasts.

I just loved the way the applicator worked though. Is there a technical term for it or is it a Gorilla secret?

I wish I'd been there! Sounds like a great evening! Funnily enough, Boudoir does not suit me. Goes a bit 'dead flower vase' on me.

Guerlains are with me. Here is the list:-
180 ans
Philtre d'amour
Attrape Coeur
Cuir Belugo
Gourmand Coquin
Bois Torride
Purple fantasy
Angelique Noire

Gorillas:-
The smell of weather turning
Icon
Ladyboy
Exhale
Superworldunknown
Bscent
Love

I really didn't want to let the Guerlains go anywhere! It seems that even the 'meh' offerings from that house captivate me somehow. My absolute favourite from that bunch is Cuir Beluga (the simple ambery vanilla that it is), but I also really liked 180 ans and even Gourmand Coquin, the latter of which surprised me as I wasn't expecting to find that pleasant.

I don't like Attrape Coeur (philistine! I know). And Bois Torride felt like some new celebrity scent slotted in there by mistake. Purple Fantasy was bit more of a Nightmare too.

None of them scrubbers, like I said, but there were definite likes and dislikes.

MDCI - Peche Cardinal

I love the peach note here. It's one I'm familiar with in the background of Estee Lauder's PC Tuberose Gardenia, but here brought much further forward and made somewhat fresher and softer ( no gardenia "cheese" despite a distinct lactonic quality ). It doesn't smell like fruits and flowers mixed, but rather, the fruitiness inherent in some flowers brought to prominence. It's a peach made of petals, and quite beautiful.

When the peach fades, it becomes something of a gourmand tuberose, but a very soft and somewhat delicate one.

I really love the first three, maybe four hours but there is a curious transparent candy note in the base that reminds me of Jungle Elephant; I'm not sure what it is, but it doesn't agree with me. ( I think this is quite possibly a dream fragrance for lovers of Jungle Elephant wanting a classy fruity-floral ).

Highly recommended, despite the fact that I'm not shelling over hundreds to own it.


Grossmith was a complete surprise to me. Turn-of-the-century revivals sound right up my alley, but these? A big "I'll pass" here.

Parfumerie Generale - Mio Bjao

I really enjoyed this, and surprised myself in loving a fairly simple fruity-floral. I used to think I hated this genre, but when it smells as lovely as this and a few others I've smelled recently, I realize it's all about how it's done.

The top notes are a sweet, soft, rounded, and "perfumey" pineapple note, curiously honeyed ( hawthorn? ) and fading into a pillowy white-floral base. I don't find it complex, but there's an extremely naturalistic beauty to it I love. It's very comforting.

Now, if only I could find out where this comes from...? Parfumerie Generale makes no mention of it, and I can't find it sold anywhere. Help!

Parfums MDCI - Enlevement Au Serail

I figured I'd be all set to adore this one after reading a few reviews, but I'm afraid it's another soap-monster on me. For the first hour or so there's that soap note, plus some intriguing background skank. I'll admit the dirty-clean aspect is interesting, I just don't find it enjoyable.

In the base the soap retreats a little and a nice dark jasmine and castoreum come discernably forward, in a very "vintage" style, but all in all it's not enough to shift this to something I like.

Guerlain - 180 Ans - This on me is something like almonds, possibly vanilla, lemony turning to orange flower with a touch of rum and spice. It reminds me of the smell of the Christmas pudding mixture but as a gentle perfume. Also a bit like baby powder with almonds in. Not what I was expecting but very well blended and it presents itself gracefully. After 30 minutes on my skin it gets a bit peachy for me, but I cannot wear Mitsouko either and I turn Shalimar to powder.... It dried down rather softly and wasn't my sort of smell, but is obviously well blended and I can see it will be lovely on the right skin. This voyage of Guerlain will be very interesting for me.

Gorilla perfumes - Love - Rose floral with cardomon or some spice like cinnamon plus a citrus note... green lemon or bergamot with a hint of green? Settles to a citrus cologne with a floral spice undertone - almost edible. Quite nice for a warm day actually. Rather fresh with a soft creamy undertone and a spicy tint. After a while an almost detergent clean smell, ok, but dangerously close to a chemical smell for a 'natural' perfume. I could still smell this one the next day.

Gorilla perfume - Superworldunknown - Good name for this one. Something like sweeties, lemons, oranges, flowers and chocolate, all at once. Quite nose confusing at the beginning. It smells rather like one of those green lime eclairs with chocolate in the middle after you have just undone the wrapper. This gets a bit better as it goes along, some woody and spicy vanilla type undertones arrive, reminding me of the smell of the white paper bag with just the remains of the green eclairs at the bottom.

Gorilla perfume - Ladyboy - A wierd beginning here. Pear drops and amyle nitrate with a gentle spicy floral note I don't recognise. It then smells slightly musty like sex on very wet lemongrass and straw. There is then something like wet hay with an earthy smell like the ground of an exotic garden at night. it then lifts to a hint of the still night air within that, the air loaded with slightly strange flowers. I'm not sure I liked this very much but it was an interesting journey.

Great reviews, mumsy! The "weird stuff" in Ladyboy is probably seaweed absolute.

I received the parcel from Mumsy today. There's so many samples, I think it's going to take me a while to try them all!

I got my bottle as a gift, from a friend after he went to see Pierre Guillaume give a talk at Les Senteurs in London. I received it along with two other PG bottles that were signed by PG, but it was not signed. I wrote to the friend asking him about the origins, release info, etc. So, I shall get back to you.

Thanks sooo much! ( And wow, can I borrow your friends? )

Ok, here is the scoop. He got it as a free gift-y thing the night PG spoke at Les Senteurs last Fall. So he assumed it was an upcoming scent, a preview (It's just an ounce.), though I have not seen that happen, and that talk was last October! I saw a woman on MUA had a bottle, too. So I guess I am not the only one.

Amouage - Opus II

I find something very compelling about Opus II's top notes - dry, dusty, yet intensely herbal without being sharp, tart, or green. A spice cupboard blend suspended in a dessicated, powdery, fougere accord, it distinctly reminds me of some herbalists' shops I've been in, realized in a pleasing, refined way rather than in the style of so many aromatherapy blends you often find in such places.

One of my favorites of the line, though I'd never personally own it. Kind of a grown-up version of LV's Spezie.

Amouage - Silver Cologne

Amouage doing fresh? Well, I hope that doesn't last long - oh wait, it doesn't.

Almost as soon as a somewhat airy citrus is out of the gate it morphs into familiar Amouage territory of incense, powdery florals, and skank. It's nice, but I'm not wowed by it, and I like the more bold and intriguing variant of this found in the women's Gold. Given the Golds, and also Ubar, and quite possibly the Silvers ( wouldn't know, I've yet to try them - but I'm assuming this is a flanker? ), I'm not sure Amouage is saying anything new with another fragrance on this theme.

Worth trying if "Women's Gold Light" sounds good to you.

Well, this is it for me and the Amouages. All in all I'm very happy to try this but find Amouage to be a hit-and-miss line for me, and their distinctive style is a sometime-thing. I think there are a number of great Amouages out there ( Ubar still tops the list for me ), but I'll never be an Amouage fan the way I'm a Serge Lutens fan.

Just for fun, a star rating for those I did and didn't write a full review for...

Ubar - 5 ( Perfection.. )
Opus II - 4.5
Jubiliation 25 - 4
Gold For Men - 3.5
Dia For Men - 3.5
Ciel For Men - 2.5
Silver Cologne - 2.5
Lyric Man - 1.5
Reflection Man - 0.5 ( I have no words... )

Back from hols...

Gorilla Perfumes - Icon - Smoky, lavendery, camphorous, wood with incense. I quite liked this one of all I have tried so far. It was more gentle on the nose than the others. It reminded me of entering an old unopened manor house, full of mothballs and old lovingly polished mysore Indian wood furniture. It dries down to a sort of dusty gentle myrrh incense.

Gorilla Perfumes - The smell of weather turning - Well, if the above was the house, then this is it's garden. You are by a musty shed smelling damp bay trees, and the gardeners cigar is wafting in the distance. The sun has come out, the bees are buzzing and the trees are drying. Very evocative and true to the strange name. Dries down to a woodsy, earthy talc. I quite liked this too. Again more gentle than the first batch I tried.

Gorilla Perfumes - Bscent - I didn't know what to make of this one. Furniture polish came to mind. Not unpleasant but not like perfume. Odd, but nice in its way.

Gorilla Perfumes - Exhale - This had a citrus fruity note which quickly merged into deep green woods. Like an older mans aftershave. It lifts in the drydown to a gentle spicy, very slightly smoky woods. Comforting and safe like a lovely big bearhug from someone you love. I could see this one as a classic.

You forgot Ciel Woman . And did you forget Dia Woman, too? Or did I miss it?

Cuir Beluga - Guerlain - I'm getting spices and powder. It smells like a very subtle Moroccan market stall. Hot vanilla and something like cardomon with a hint of nuts and fruit skins, maybe apricots. There are new leather jackets hanging in the distance giving a sharp newly cured note, like an almondy note, almost like a chocolate vanilla with a tiny lifting top note similar to a menthol lift without the mint. Not a young persons smell. It dries down to a sophisticated velvety, spicy, vanilla powder and remains there for ages. I'm not sure I would like to wear this. The sharp note on the vanilla reminds me too much of baby sick, albeit not unpleasant.

Attrape Coeur - Guerlain - Exactly as a perfume should be in my textbook version in my head. Opening slightly spicy, heady, heavy floral creamy heliotrope with the changes morphing very gently and imperceptably. It reminds me of a dark violet flower opening slowly up on my hand, gently allowing me to smell deeper and deeper to a creamy centre. There is a fruity note lifting it away from the cloying zone, but not dominating. It melts gently into a soft bed of ambery, spicy, flower petals but doesn't ever get too floral or too vanilla. This is my favourite Guerlain so far and I think my favourite of all the pass the parcel frags so far. I may have to buy this one. It feels classy, womanly and sophisticated.

What a fun review! Baby sick? Eeeek! This was the sample I enjoyed the most (but just can't justify $250 for the full bottle - so much of that price tag is 'luxury extra' rather than the perfume).

Angelique Noire - Guerlaine - This gave a sharp greenish blast initially but settled down quickly to a gentle sweetie-esque green powder. It has a slight sharp edge that I do like along with a faint peppery note, although that could be me. This one reminds me of just bathed babies covered in Johnsons baby powder. Too sweet for me but a pleasant enough smell. I like the green note of it and would like to use it in my perfumes. I would be curious to know it's full ingredients list.

Gourmand Coquin - Guerlain - Across between a fluffy cat and pudding. Then on comes the vanilla talc again with cafe au lait and an underlying musky, dusty smell. Wierd at first, but gets nicer as it goes along. I definitely wouldn't wear this one, I would rather drink it before I went to bed. It has a Ovaltine type comforting smell, almost malty.

Philtre d'Amour - Guerlain - At last a let up from talc...A bright and cheerful citrus and spice beginning. Very fresh and with a twist of a barley sugar. This would be a lovely aftershave on a man. Lovely and fresh for a hot sunny day.

Boise Torride - Guerlain - I like the opening of this. Spicy sweeties with woody oranges. It reminds me of Christmas and wood polish. I see this on a man too. I love orientals so I like this one. It is very gentle and lovely on the spicy notes.

Purple Fantasy - Guerlain - This reminds me of jasmine rice with a delicate lemongrass flavoured thai meal. There is a tiny hint of something like caramel there too. I didn't mind it but it isn't a classic.

My Guerlain summary is that I am delighted to have had the opportunity to try these lovely fragrances, so thank you very much. The quality of Guerlain sings out loud and clear, even if I didn't like the blend.

They are coming to you now Coopmom.

So, here I am with my first shipment. I completely spaced this thread, sorry folks! By the way, I remembered about the thread because I was talking to my husband who wanted me to record my impressions from a wine we were having with dinner into our wine book. As a response, I complained that these days (is it Fall? Is it the Moon phase?) I can smell and taste perfectly well, I can tell whether I like it or not, and sometimes I can get a basic idea of what that is. Not much more. So, sorry folks, I am not at all at my best and not that good to start with.

But I am testing Carons, many of which I dreamed of trying, and I am enjoying them. Right now I am in a stage of taking a tiny dab or a tiny squirt on my arm and recording initial impressions, "yay, nay or maybe".

Acaciosa - I thought I would really like this one based on the notes but I don't. It is too loud and too sweet and just a little bit too strange on me. It's a really fine perfume, and I can tell that, but it is just not my style. Everything about it is not quite me. I could not discern any individual notes, it's a very smooth blend, but I can definitely see some fruity vibe going on. I will have to try another little squirt again to understand it better, but I doubt I would like it.

Or et Noir - this one I do like. This is a wonderful floral that I can definitely imagine myself wearing.

Farnesiana - when I saw hay in the description of the notes, I had my suspicions. I am told to stay away from grassy notes, since my skin will amplify those to unpleasantness. This is essentially what happened. The drydown felt sweet and I didn't like it. I guess it's a chemistry incompatibility issue.

Montaigne - again, not me thing. I liked the narcissus (smells like real flowers I tried to breathe in during the long Spring), but I found it too green (again, my skin would amplify) at first and too sweet at the drydown. Not me.

Aimez-Moi - for a while I thought I can't do violet. It's the violet leaf I can't do. The violet itself is fine and I can do it... but do I like it? I received a pleasant sweet smell of violet candy with a fleeting lasting power. I find it pleasant but not very memorable.

If I sounded like I was unexcited, true enough, I was a bit disappointed by not being blown away by the things I had on my list forever. But today's testing was super enjoyable! For some reason, I didn't have these on my test list and they're very cool!

Tabac Blonde - wow! the first impression was not favorable. I felt that I got a leather saddle along with horse sweat. Now, please excuse me if I am wrong since I've never actually smelled it. It was a weird association, but I felt a very strong, almost assaulting leather smell. Nothing pleasant or nice. When my husband smelled this part of it he didn't say anything but gave me a look that said, "are you out of your mind?!". Then a sweet note came in, and I started enjoying it more. He still didn't. Afterward, it started smelling like a floral perfume drop on a nice old leather glove. I loved it in this stage, and what about my husband? He asked what it was. He thought I washed off the offender and applied something else, while I have just waited. I loved the roller coaster of the interaction of leather and flowers. I am surprised to not find any tobacco (am I missing something in the name??) but I loved the middle stage and drydown which is still going strong and is vanillic, still leathery, and slightly powdery. A surprising and unexpected like.

Narcisse Noir - this was a rendition of a daffodil which I liked a lot better. I enjoyed it all the time I had it on. I couldn't detect any other notes, but I enjoyed the harmonious scent coming from my arm. A like.

Posted in wrong thread.

The Greens from Mumsy. This package was such a treat! I usually try to stay away from vintage perfume (too much shopping on ebay and possible disappointment), but this package weakened my resolve to the point of "resistance is futile".

Ma Griffe circa 1960s I adored! The later reformulated version I have in my collection, as well as some other versions of EDP and PDT. But there's nothing better than the version from the 1960s with the tender aldehydes at start, the beautiful milky greenness and powder in the drydown... this stuff is absolutely adorable, and I will be asking Mumsy to tell me what bottles/batch numbers/boxes etc. to look for. I am completely smitten by Ma Griffe the second time (the first time was when I tried another version of PDT, also the one that keeps eluding me). Notice that me and coopmom went opposite on this one -- I love the 1960s version -- this pattern will continue, as we are officially Opposite Scent Twins.
Yendi -- nope. Dislike. Won't wear.
Jean-Louis Scherrer -- absolutely adorable. I think it's even better than Chamade, but in the same line of aldehydes and hyacinths. Hyacinth is such a pretty green note. I truly loved this one and would love to get some, but I see that it can be pretty steep in price and rare as well...
Cabotine it smelled too much like big white florals to me, and this is just not my genre. But by the drydown I smelled some lovely civet. I experience it as a very nice and comforting scent. Kitty fur, not kitty butt, as Evangeline put it. So no skunk, or at least no skunk for my nose. Pure comfort. I did not have a chance to find out whether others will run away from me or try to stick me in the shower since I usually sample privately.
Chantilly turned on me mean and green. I used to say that I love me some green, but when I looked closer I realized that my "greens" are florals with a green streak. I cannot handle a true green, which this one was, with a strong blast of peppery neroli at first.
Emeraude I dared not to have more than one tiny spritz since the decant was low, but I would not mind exploring this one further. It's another one of those that I experience as a strong green, but it is classified as a floral oriental.
First I absolutely adored, another hyacinths based aldehydic floral that I would be very interested in wearing more. I called it "tenderness in the bottle".
Alyssa Ashley was nice and comforting, as many animalics are on me (civet for one). I found it warm and tender, slightly sweet, no unwashed body parts at all! But, as often happens with me and animalics, they are not super exciting for me either unless they are blended with something else that gives them character.

My winners from the pack are, obviously, Ma Griffe 1960s, First, and Jean-Louis Scherrer.
I disliked Yendi.

Thanks for an amazing opportunity to smell these vintage scents!