December Blind 3x3 Sniff

[Twolf]

Our samples have crawled to the sniffers from the Land of Sweets,
Let's see the dances, hear the notes and get some tasty treats.
Please, all, join Nutcracker's crew and start wearing them very soon,
Together we will figure out what they are, and win them back from the bad Mouse goon!

Sample A. Sugar Plum Fairy Dance.

[darkdreams]

Chiming in just to wish good luck to the sniffers and to thank Ms. Twolf for hosting this round. Here's a little treat to get you into a sweet mood.



[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH9vYiqDX5o"]YouTube- Dance of the sugar plum fairy from The Nutcracker (Mariinsky[/ame]

[YouCanCallMeMo]

I'm up early today, so I guess I'm the first to check in!

Sample A is a very pale yellow. It's a typical consistency for an EdT or an EdP, not an oil, etc.

sniff from the vial? Sweet to my nose, and...minty?

***

I've now dabbed a bit on my wrist and it's a definite mint top note...I'd say Peppermint, not spearmint. Sometimes I get a piney note in mint perfumes, but this one is straight up peppermint out of the gate.

Wow. On my skin, that peppermint top note didn't last as long as it took me to type out that sentence. The drydown is already upon me, I guess! The mint had me expecting gourmand, but this is definitely some kind of floral...it actually reminds me of Estee Lauder Beautiful quite a bit.

I have a preliminary guess, but as I'm the first to comment, I'll PM Twolf rather than spoil the fun. (As if I'd be even close, LOL.But, just in case I've lucked upon the answer, I'll keep it off here for now....)

I will say that my first sniff made me assume that this must be the dept store or perhaps drugstore scent. The surprising drydown made me think department store....And, yet, my preliminary guess is a niche scent. So, who knows?

[LedByMyNose]

Sample A: same colour as light white wine (in fact the samples all look about the same colour)

Out of the vial: smells floral and perfume-y to me, and I think I'm getting something 'fresh' - dept. store or drugstore is my guess

On skin, 1 min: Sweet-ish, but not foody/gourmand. And yes, is that peppermint? Again there is a fresh note. At this stage I find this inoffensive and unremarkable. Don't dislike it but there's nothing special about - or, nothing that would make me perk up and go "oh! niiiice!" It's crisp-sweet, not cloying-sweet right now. Is there any bergamot?

5 mins: Has more body now, although it still isn't foody to me, the sweetness is coming out. Smells very sugary (sugar? honey?) at this stage and the freshness is almost gone. It's a thin, sweet frag right now, and still floral although I cannot ID the floral notes (freesia? rose? lily of the valley?). Is there some kind of candied fruit here? I don't know if I've taken the Christmas theme too much to heart but it *does* smells Christmassy.

15 mins: Sweet and spicy. Warm, but not thick. Cinnamon?

OK, those are my initial impressions. I am with YouCanCallMeMo - this definitely seemed like a dept. store/drug store/lower-end frag at first, but this sweet/spicy thing is making me think niche. I think I'll stick with my initial guess. It also smells modern. 90's or later, if forced I'd say post 2000. More Oriental then Gourmand, to my nose. Definitely feminine.

Initially it had me thinking of Dior or Calvin Klein (newer CK), now it has me thinking of B Never Too Busy To B Beautiful line, which I find has the same sweet/spicy qualities in the 3 or 4 samples I've tried.

Am stumped.

[LedByMyNose]

This is remaining sweet but getting less-floral and more-spicy as it dries down.

EDIT: I don't think this is Botrytis, but it has many of the same qualities.

[kumquat]

One fragrance I know of that has a surprising mint up front is Biagiotti's 'Roma'. So I'll throw that out as a first guess.

[YouCanCallMeMo]

Now that we have guesses in the ring, I'll go ahead a say that the guess I PMed to Twolf this morning was Diabolo Rose by Parfums de Rosine. I based this on a directory search for a few of the notes. This is the posted list for Diabolo Rose:



Top Notes: Sicilian bergamot, Peppermint, Essence of rose.
Middle Notes: Lily of the valley, Peony, Rose absolute.
Base Notes: Amber, Musk, Sandalwood, Yerbamate.

[cello]

One fragrance I know of that has a surprising mint up front is Biagiotti's 'Roma'. So I'll throw that out as a first guess.

Oh, good guess Kumquat. But I think they would have been mentioning a strong pepper note that hangs around with Roma. Still, you could be right.

[darkdreams]

Twolf will probably be online soon but until then...keep on guessing. None of the above mentioned ones is it.

[YouCanCallMeMo]

Jo Malone White Jasmine & Mint?

I'm amazed at how few minty florals I can even track down out there!

[LedByMyNose]

Heh, I'm almost hoping nobody gets this so the game can last longer. I feel like I'm 5.

I'm right at the tail end of the drydown now. Right now it smells totally generic to me. Generic sweet, possibly vanillic, sandalwoody drydown. I'm almost tempted to guess if this is a celeb scent? Argh it's probably something really high end now I've said that.

Cello - I wondered about pepper. It has a pepperiness to it, at one stage, but I can't put my finger on it. Pink pepper, maybe?

I'm interested to see if Rogalal smells the peppermint in the opening. I want to give it a second round to make sure of that...have you applied it again, YouCanCallMeMo?

[darkdreams]

It is not the Jo Malone one. I don't want to reveal more than Twolf would like to, but I'll say that perhaps you should not dwell that much on that minty note. Try to identify some other ones perhaps?

[YouCanCallMeMo]

OK, I just reapplied...Crikey, I'm awful at separating floral notes...it seems to be a well-blended mix...

Let's see....There is an almost cedary mustiness under there...but, I hesitate to call it cedar...And something foody in the middle, kind of candied, all mixed in with that very heady floral blend.

[Twolf]

Thank you guys for your participation and your guesses, I received two and none of them is correct. Darkdreams, you are doing a terrific job co-ordinating our sniffers' efforts while I am away.

You are good sniffers, both of you, ladies. I wonder what Mr.R has to say and how A behaves on his skin, but so far I have to agree with several things mentioned in your posts:

-- certainly has a Christmassy feel to me;
-- more oriental and floral than gourmand with my chemistry, although some reviewers consider it gourmand;
-- agree with candied fruit (what type?);
-- and agree with generic sweet drydown and you attempt to classify it -- it smells like drugstore, department store and niche combined. She would not be a Sugar Plum Fairy if she did not have all these tricks up her sleeve.

Let's wait for Mr.R's first impressions and then we (DD and I) will comment about the correct notes that you have identified.

[rogalal]

Hi all,

I'm at work and it's finally lunch time, so I can write.

In the top, I get mostly carnation. Like some carnations are wont to do, it's quite bubblegummy. I think that minty spiciness is the spicy clove-like aspect of the carnation. I'm pretty sure they've added some cinnamon, too, which is giving sort of a candied quality to the whole thing. I'm getting other florals, too, but definitely secondary to the main smell, which is that bubblegummy carnation. I think it's muguet/lily of the valley, which gives the whole thing a sort of wet greenness that keeps everything floral. Or maybe some violet, which I find easy to miss, but does its thing to add a floral complexity and a sort of "upliftingness" to many scents.

As it dried, the carnation faded quickly, making room for a cassis note and eventually for rose. I think this is the candied fruit you guys are smelling. Of course, based on Twolf's hints, it's probably plum, but I smell more cassis than anything else. Maybe a pinch of strawberry or cherry, though.

It could be an aspect of the cassis, but I think I'm also smelling some safe white musk in the base, too. It's kind of creamy, which could be vanilla or sandalwood.

So, my official note questions:

carnation?
rose?
muguet/lily of the valley?
violet?
cassis/black currant/red currant?
plum?
strawberry?
white musk?
vanilla?
sandalwood?

Based on these notes and Twolf's hints, I think I'm ready to make a first guess. I'll pm, so as to not ruin the fun if I'm right (which I'm probably not, but a lot of the notes match, so I'll try...)

[rogalal]

More thoughts I forgot.

I'm guessing it's an EDP, because it goes on pretty strong.

I'm guessing it's current, because it goes on pretty strong but fades fast (toploading?).

The carnation note can be a niche favorite (it's a house note for Caron, there are a few CDG's that use it, and it was featured prominently in one of the Lutens I recently sampled), but I'm guessing that this is a recent designer release.

In terms of genre, is "candy floral" an official description?

I'd be quite impressed if this is a drugstore scent, but not terribly surpised if it turns out to be niche.

I'm thinking the Christmas reference may be that combination of clovey carnation and cinnamon, which can have a Christmas candle sort of vibe (which I generally don't care for, but this smells quite good - I appreciate their restraint)

[YouCanCallMeMo]

Perhaps that mustiness I sense is actually hints of carnation and violet, as it's more powerdery than a cedar would be....hummmm....let me reapproach my note searches.

J'Adore Anniversaire En Or? That's supposed to have plum, violet, rose, and something called "Crystallized Orchid," whatever that is.

[rogalal]

Perhaps that mustiness I sense is actually hints of carnation and violet, as it's more powerdery than a cedar would be....hummmm....let me reapproach my note searches.

Oh yeah... powder!

Maybe iris is a note?

When I think of powdery carnation, I think of Caron, which makes me suspect Nuit de Noel, but the notes don't match and if this is from 1922, it's been brutally reformulated...

[Twolf]

How nice that we all happen to be here together at the same time!

Ok, I received two separate PMs identifying this fragrance as Van Cleef & Arpels Feerie, and let me disappoint you, it is a very good guess but, unfortunately, incorrect!

Now that Mr.R chimed in, more about the notes: it is a fairly modern fragrance (after 1990) and the notes identified correctly are:
-- cinnamon (now you can brew a cup of tea with that same cinnamon note -- purple bag -- that I have enclosed for your pleasure, you might read the bag for more hints, BTW);
-- clove;
-- freesia;
-- lily of the valley;
-- honey;
--sandalwood.

Surprisingly, there is no rose. The freshness some of you are feeling may come from aldehydes that are not in the manufacturer's official pyramid but are present in some other pyramids for this fragrance as found on the Internet.

[YouCanCallMeMo]

Oh, man, now I need to go find the tea....

Ok...Look at that, Cinnamon Plum!

And, I also note that there are 4 teabags and 4 samples...Hm...Twolf is a crafty one!

I notice that all 4 teas are of English origin. This makes me want to give special consideration to the English perfume houses.

Well, my next guess was GOING to be Badgley Mischka Couture, but that seems less likely.

Energy by Anthony Logistics? That doesn't feel right.

How about Comme des Garcons Parfum? One reviewer describes it as "Christmassy!"

[Twolf]

Ms.L I have read through your thoughts and you have made two important discoveries. One in #41 and another one in #50.

[YouCanCallMeMo]

OK, one more guess and then I'm going to brew myself a cup of tea!

Comme des Garcons White?

[LedByMyNose]

Post #41 and #50? Me and YouCanCallMeMo?

OK, so just to confirm there is *no* carnation?

The opening is interesting because we've had 2 strong impressions (mint for CallMeMo and carnation for Rogalal) and neither are right? This got me thinking that for a brief moment in the opening I get a mentholated feeling - the feeling you get when you've got a Vicks throat drop in your mouth and you breath in. This reminds me somewhat (just this note) of the Aomassai opening, which was quite mentholated to me. What note can give this feeling? That isn't mint?

I'm going to guess peach for the fruit...if it is peach it's specifically the kind of peach I don't like in perfume, though. Too much, too sweet etc.

YouCanCallMeMo - this, especially the mid-drydown, reminds of J'Adore as well (the regular one, I havent smelled any of the flankers).

Another point that's just personal - I don't like this. It's too strong and too 'perfumey'. It's not a scrubber, though.

EDIT: Got another note guess - ginger?

Also, have we guessed the 'main' floral note yet?

EDIT EDIT: Wait, is CallMeMo right about the plum?

Weeee this is so fun.

[Twolf]

Of course you are right, #50's discovery belongs to Mo but it is a very good guess.

Instead of carnation it is clove, these two are pretty close every now and then.

The fruit is peach.

Strangely enough, A on me is not a scrubber either but I would not call it "strong". Again, I do not wear it very often.

[YouCanCallMeMo]

Well, my CdG White guess was based on the thought the pink pepper you guessed in #41 and my house guess in #50.

Alternatively, I could have merely been right about the tea, or Twolf being crafty! (of course) And you could be right about the Celebuscent guess....

[Twolf]

No, none of CDG.

OK, do not tell on me, but if you were to ask one certain BNer nicely, she would probably send you in the right direction with this floral note with multiple personalities. (Brielle is her name! )

[Twolf]

So far, neither the name of the scent, nor the name of the house has been mentioned anywhere on this thread.

[YouCanCallMeMo]

OK, Floris China Rose meets my "English House" guess, and has clove and peach and LBMN's Vanilla drydown discovery....

[LedByMyNose]

Is CallMeMo right about it being an English house??

EDIT: Is there jasmine in this?

[Twolf]

Hmmm... Vanilla.... One pyramid for A I have seen gives vanilla among the basenotes, but not the one on the manufacturer's site. None of the pyramids I have seen specify jasmine as a note.

If you would, please elaborate on the fragrance development? Starts sort of fresh --> goes into fruity-floral --> and dries down like on Oriental? Or, starts fruity --> proceeds like a floral --> and ends up like a Gourmand? What are you getting?

There was a guess that it is a feminine fragrance and right now I feel that I can confirm this, yes it is marketed for women (but we all know that it does not really mean that a man can't pull it off).

As per #50, yes, there is a certain British connection.