October blind sniff: Unpresentables

Oh, my ok, how to proceed. With fragrance A impressions? Notes I find?

NOTES on Scent A:

From first sniff:
Marketed to women I would think.

Here are my notes as I wrote them: will write next after a bit more development:

licorice?
vanilla?
something animal
a bitter herbaceous hit of something
a bit of skank
something indolent?
baby powder hit at first sniff for me and a friend
heliotrope?
a hit of synthetic 30 minutes in--floral?
sandalwood coming out?
vanilla dry down lasts forever on me
seems vintage, rich, deep

A grand dame/vamp of a fragrance to my nose

More to come.

HI, lurking with relish—what fun! Great theme, cacio!

First, quick impressions are up.

I have more to say, but will wait for others to chime in.

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Is almost 12:30 am here and time for me and the bed to have a thing....

I assume continue tomorrow?

Good night and happy sniffing all.

It's 8.20 in the morning here. I have a slight cold I think, so don't lean heavily on my opinions. I've taken a cold cure and an antihistamine for this sniff.... so here goes:-

Juice is dark orange/amber

First sniff, huge orris powder blast with a citrus side. A sharper civetty floral rising as i sniff with something darker alongside it, like aniseed or seaweed or liquorice. A really lovely perfume actually.

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There is a violetty floral powder like perfumes of old here. I'd be surprised if this wasn't an old classic structure of frag. It's big and fat and proper.

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I'm getting a lemon sherbet nuance, like there is a herbal sweetie note rising above the powdery rest A bit like a cough pastille.

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It isn't coming over as a truly floral perfume in the garden sense. The florals are well blended in a seamless and traditional way. This is a grande dame style perfume. Spicy too, there is a very gentle spice in here like tolu balsam, benzoin and a soft sandalwood base possibly with iris as one of the flowers maybe. I think I would say there were violets here.

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There is a big fat bottom to this lady. I think propolis or castoreum. There is a honeyed note that grounds and sweetens the whole thing. Poo bear would like this one on his teddy lady. It has fur and richness about it.

I'm excited the October Blind sniff is underway. Enjoying the first impressions. Hope your nose improves soon mumsy

Back to the questions in order from post 1

Unpresentables.... I bet this is old and considered raunchy. It is not polite, but not obviously mucky at first, but drying down over in the rumpled bedsheets zone.

I would say towards women and vintage.

(I just got a huge blast of civet and indole arriving and its 20 minutes in)

If this is low concentration, then it must be a big mamma at the perfume end.

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There is a nutty element arriving with the vanillic woodsy, it is a floral almond like a heliotrope type of thing.

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There could possibly be a tiny element of tobacco in here or leathery notes coming.

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It's fading a bit into a vanillic, honey, leather bad girl frag. Definitely a nuzzler.

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I must do some work too, I will be in and out. I will reapply and check.

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I think the indolic floral may be a heavy Jasmine sambac perhaps.

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The dry down is suggesting a patchouli. There is a greener herbal hint to the sweet honeyed base.

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I've sprayed some on paper now and these are just the jotted, fast, unvetted notes as they popped into my head:-
Boozy neroli, spicy citrus but blunt not sharp, powdery violets, creamy, rosemary, tonka/tolu, resin, vanilla, sandal, cedar, patchouli, vetiver, green orange/herbal/spice honey, comfy, old roses with filthy jasmine, a cleaner flower in here somewhere, like a lily clean, sweaty salty urinous civet, iris/orris, fat and bad leather, lovely blending/all muddled/hard to separate notes. Sandalwood/vanilla/amber/honey/castoreum.

Right off for a while. I need to give the schnozz a rest and do some real work.

Good morning everyone, glad to be joining again, as a co-host this time. I must say I am truly impressed by the descriptions written so far, really well done, both @KarmaLee and @mumsy

Thank you to Cacio for a wonderful theme and the really remarkable gems! I really did not think I would enjoy them but the picks are really really awesome!

Ok, I suppose it is our turn to ask the questions...

Can we have any confirmation of notes now that two sniffers are agreeing on some?

Vanilla, sandalwood, liquorice and heliotrope perhaps.

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What country is our third sniffer in? I've realised it probably isn't even morning yet .... no, it's only 4.11am there....

I'll be off to do more of what I should be if I wasn't messing here. Naughty.

Skin. Very dried down now and subdued creamy honey lightly spiced like nutmeg almost but not so strong as that, maybe old spent cloves. Like a very whisper of the creamy toffee pudding left over on the sideboard after the naughty night before. The fur wrap not far away.

The paper is more floral like dried violets with tolu. Much more polite on paper. It has an old lady sweetie vibe like parma violets long been in the bottom of a soft leather handbag.

I loooove these mysteries.

this is such a lovely game!!
i am trying to visualise what that is and maybe make a guess from descriptions , from all you ve said habanita comes to my mind although i never smelled it but wish to do so .....but i am sure this is not the scent you have cause dont mention too much of leather

You are allowed to ask any questions online here, but any guesses must be PMs to the host Cacio or co-host Irena. There are three sniffers who will sniff for you. One has yet to wake, so we are waiting for her to rise and play.

aaa cool ok so i think this vintage is doyenne of genre ...so the game is we as guest guess the scent or you sniffers must guess what it is? thank you!!

This is a cracker cacio! I hope to keep checking in to this one!

@mumsy, I'll await the input of 3rd sniffer before confirming any notes. I guess you mean 'marketing' notes like those listed in the BN & fragrantica directories, making it easier to guess? Cos some that you describe I smell too, but they are not listed in the directories.

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Indeed. And the sniffers can also write about their impressions of the scents by describing how the scent makes them feel, what story it tells, if it reminds them of something like a piece of art or music.

Lol... never going to make it too easy......

I've ruled a few obvious ones out because I have them, but Cacio would be more sneaky than that. I'll Pm them to you.

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I will go again... it's only half past five in the morning over there... much too early for sniffing unless your name begins with T..... lol.

@mumsy got A right! OMG you're fast!!! Well done!!!

Your inbox is full Irena...

I shall keep quiet and only answer direct questions about the smell.

ok question to mumsy now that she knows which scent it is can you describe 3 majore notes ? 1 top 1 middle 1 bottom

Hi mumsy, my name begins with a T and I am a sniffoholoc. Congratulations on your guess -- I know you have been doing/acing your homework, consistently!

Nice to see new faces joining in the fun. Welcome, iivanita.

Sorry guys, my inbox is now cleared, I missed the last pm's from
mumsy
iivanita
and
cacio

So please re-send those? Many thanks

Some descriptions are priceless! LOLed at all this above.

I there a way we can get this thread stuck to the top like usual?

PM shadesofbleu. She is a mod and supporter of Blind Sniffs. She is working full-time and checks late at night. You might also want to PM socalwoman, whoever gets to doing it first.

I'm not allowed to confirm notes as a sniffer, only the hosts can. But look at both sniffers note lists and see which overlap. Not all are correct, but there are a few major ones that won't be wrong if you take the description of the smell into account. Then go to the directories on BN or fragrantica and start narrowing down the search by notes. Then a process of elimination.



I knew that wouldn't get by you



Second that. Welcome for some fun.


Just a note that we were also sent another vial of D with some matching body oil in this parcel just for some smelly fun. Smelly fun it was, because the oil leaked through the package and the postmen were subjected to an interesting smelling experience. The title of this sniff gives you a clue and we hoped they didn't get into trouble from their wives.

Ok, back to A.

That bitter note: carnation or vetiver?

Maybe iris in the middle? Others are getting almost a bit of peppery, cloves? One said cinnamon, but that all may be carnation?

A hint of leather, but dries down sweet, vanillic on me. Dirtied up a bit with patchouli?

I have a guess sent to cacio!

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How the scent made me feel: Sorry for double post!

This makes me feel in the presence of a powerful woman, but a woman of another time. But it still has relevance for today. It has a note/soul that makes me react with a bit of "ick," then "yum." It is smooth, but has a bite. Then dries down sweet and lasts forever on my skin.

Mumsy, that was super fast! Good job! Whoa!

Sounds like a great theme for this month's sniff! Good luck to all the participants.

Thanks for topping it shadesofbleu

Cacio, when we are all done here +1 or 2 days after the end, please PM shades to unsticky it.

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Sniffers, after reading you all this morning, I have a question: I understand A is a class of its own. There are two scents (well, three, actually) fitting your descriptions, in my mind. Does A have a Guerlain vibe to it?

So true, the list of notes is pretty hefty, like what's NOT in there? LOL One would expect it to be a hot mess but still the result is so smooth, it really took me by surprise!

As for D, would love to hear your thoughts on that one too, at one point or another, as it was the only one from this bunch that literally made me gag...

Some additional questions: what makes A feel 'vintage' to you? What aspect makes you go 'yuck' and what aspect 'yum'?

What is a 'Guerlinade'?
never mind, found it here:
http://monsieurguerlain2.blogspot.nl...uerlinade.html

I agree with not particularly vanillin-ic to my nose either.
After the reveal of A, I would love to know more about the other 'grandes dames', I thought I totally disliked that particular corner of perfumery, turns out I bloody love it

It would be Jean Desprez Bal a Versailles, Elsa Schiaparelli Shocking, Guerlain Shalimar and Vol de Nuit, Carven Ma Griffe, Lanvin Arpege and Mon Peche, Weil Zibeline, Robert Piguet Bandit.

Thank you, Twolf Cacio

p.s. does unpresentable (in the case of A) = debauchery?

Hm, ok for me yum does equal that vanilla I get. I am still smelling vanilla on my wrist and on the paper. I first went toward a hint of Guerlainade, but it having so many notes makes sense. I do get vanilla. Unfortunately, both of my big guesses had a prominent leather tint. Apparently the scent is not a leather. I am having trouble putting it in a category other than big, old-fashioned, big-hearted female. Powder. But rich.

Another guess incoming!

Having read these, I think my note guesses of violet may be misleading. Karma Lee is on the better track.

So maybe my vanilla is more honey? Maybe I am not distinguishing between these two so well. Civet as my animalic hit.

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Another guess sent but purely based on research!

Although it smells honeyish, it isn't too sweet or sickly at all, more like the propolis side of honey than the sugar side.

I agree about the sweetness, but not straight up vanilla extract. @mumsy mentioned 'amber' in one of her first posts. I think that explains, to me, some of the sweetness as most amber accords contain vanillin but also benzoin and musks. I think the violet baby powdery note it actually a popular older nitro musk. This is a vintage perfume so in that time, much more was allowed (the previous blind sniff taught me this actually

Guys, I'm signing off, it 11 pm here and I'm tired. Please forward any guesses or pm's to our main host, cacio, in order to prevent clogging up my inbox. Talk tomorrow

I have made my best guess, after comparing to some very old, nearly black juice I have in a bottle hiding in my "nearly dead" collection.

I would not wear this one, but I can appreciate it. I hope I am right this time. This is too much fun!

Made a guess but I was way off, lol, I will blame distraction from having had to go to the dentist, lol. Sorry, so is this confirmed as vintage or? Also, is it violet or iris powdery? sorry, just ducking in and out.

Here is a little sniffers commercial break:-

Perfume D was a hoot. Here are some extracts from my struggles on it without cacio's answers. bear in mind here I was NOT getting it at all. I will fill in the guesses later for you all to have a laugh at my expense.

1) This is a wierd one on me and I cannot make it out at all. It is sort of floral, sort of plastic and sort of soapy. (Guess X)
2) I actually think it is too pretty (on my skin anyway), but maybe it is this (guess X)
3) I'm not getting any filth at all, just gentle plasticine and artificial lilies. I have put it on my skin three times now and each time I cannot get past plasticine or a powdered baby bottom with the nappy somewhere in the distance in the bin. I tried really hard last night to dissect and get past that, and I got a citrus leaning towards lime, with mint and vanilla with an indole behind but very gently. No raunch whatsoever on me.... I shall try it on a strip. Even the envelope smells nice for me. I'm hunting for the musk. Definitely not dirty on me. Sounds like it's a good job I don't wear this thinking it's behaving itself!!!
Funny one and foxing me big time.....
4) Oh blimey.... let's try (guess X) then. It doesn't smell raunchy to me at all. Just modern and plasticcy.
My first thought at the beginning was it would be (Guess X) but it isn't nasty enough. (That is a guess after the above in order to rule it out)

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5) Blind sniffs do my head in and I love it at the same time. I'm not sure it isn't blissful cruelty to do it alone....(guess X)
6) Ha ha, you are cracking me up. It must be a blow up one then if it smells like plasticine....
You should see what I am having to read on the threads whist looking this perfume up.... It's a good job I've had children, that's all I'm going to say....lol (guess X) then!
7) That give-away is where I got the (X) from....
I think I just cannot smell the bit that is the give-away in this. This is a first for me in blind sniff to not actually get the frag notes. (Correct guess finally X)
8) Well blow me down with a feather!!!!

Thank you for that one. You really had me there and it was a good taste of what is to come. I cannot believe it is so raunchy and pungent to others when all I get a cleanly powdered baby bottom with a slight plastic nappy in the background. The only thing I can think of is that I had a slight cold last week, so maybe I shall give my nose a rest till the sniff and maybe I will get more then. I will try again with this one after the sniff too because I am incredulous that my nose cannot pick up that musk. It is also to my chagrin because I am a trainee perfumer, so it matters to me more than most. I feel quite cheated out of an experience by my own shnozz.

Yes, I had the oil on one hand and the vial on the other... about four times too. I just put the vial on a scent strip yesterday to see if it was my own skin robbing it of its smell and funnily enough I can smell it quite strongly today as I type although I am still getting a clean smell, but still strong enough to scent the area around my desk. Most interesting. Poor postman.... and I wonder if any other people did get into trouble with their other halves.

Haha, love the notes on D, mumsy! So far, of them all in this sniff, D is the only one I could love. A, too big too much in some way that assaults my nose after a bit, but the drydown works for me.

I won't give impressions of B and C yet, but will foreshadow by saying: one of them made me go wash my wrists and scrub them hard. While gagging. How's that for drama?

Since we are putting of B until tomorrow, I will write up D in a bit for fun. Right now? I am wearing it and want to bathe in it. And I have no idea yet how to describe it or my reaction.

There was more and I'll just add it to the above so it's together.

I haven't smell peeked at B and C yet. I thought the whole thing was going to be gaggy. We will see tomorrow.

I thought D was lovely too.

Most certainly we do, but it's the postmen and all the other letters that copped it that are going to get the reproach.

D can go with a bottle of champagne. I thought it was lovely and gentle....lol. I love A too, so maybe i'm just an old slapper!

I may search out a small cylinder with a top on it if they have been so nice so far. I'm waiting for the horror....

Oh, mumsy darling, hang on. If you can make it through B and C without either a headache or a sick stomach, you are a better sniffer than me! One of the two, I do not hate, but would never wear. I love to wear masculines, but it does not work for me. No guesses on that one yet!

And all, feel free to call me Karma. It really is my name. I should talk to a moderator and see about getting my name changed to just Karma. Lee is my middle name. But when put together like they are when I signed up, it makes me look like that is one name. But I kind of like it, too haha.

And yes, cacio, I plan on using the oil sample that remains in my bath in a bit. Then, will write up more. Mumsy has me much intrigued about that one!

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Scent B quick impressions:

1. marketed to men I would think
2. opens with a strong lemon-citrus bomb
3. dirty musk in there from the start

Notes:
Reminds me of that first hit of Jicky or Shalimar, but the citrus note goes away almost before it hits the nose, then I get just soft musk with medium sillage and medium longevity, nice and close to the skin.

More as it develops and I try it on paper and silk.

I love trying on paper and wool, both.

cacio--Correct. B is not the one that made me gag and rush to wash my arm with industrial soap! That is the lovely CCCCCCC. She is a real bitch of a scent to me. I can't wait to get to discussing her sordid self!

Back to B: still on my wrist, hanging out like a bad boy with a bit too much sweat.