Today I sniffed ... (sampling, September 2011)

[Warum]

I tested on the skin today Musk Ravageur -- just to find out that it is strong musk, and perhaps not my thing.

Kenzo Fleur de Prunier -- it's a limited edition and I smelled it and will keep a sample because it will remind me of my friend overseas. But I am not that impressed with the scent per se, although it is nice.

Nina Ricci -- Delice d'Epices. I like it a lot more than I expected, and will sample again!

[Mimi Gardenia]

Hmmmm , Warum- Musc Ravaguer was not my thing either though I even had a full bottle of it.

Well yesterday I was so disgusted with the 3 samples I tried and did not bother to try the fourth I bought which is Ichnusa by Profumum.
Maybe I should have tried it first !
Fig , myrtle and cut grass and really leaning towards the myrtle with wafts of figgy-ness . The fig is stronger in the start ( but still subtle ) and then it's more about the green leaves and grass. There is a gentle fig- milk in this too. Very pleasant. Well blended scent.
Ichnusa is full of quality . Unisex and men would enjoy this one greatly.
I had read that batches of Ichnusa do vary between very figgy and very green. I think this is green fig and I like it that way .
For supreme figgy - ness - nothing beats L'Artisan's Premier Fig Extreme . If that is what you are after, Ichnusa may disappoint. Premier Fig Extreme is too much fig pour moi - too much coconut in it too which is distracting .

I LOVE myrtle . The best myrtle I have ever tried is in the unbelievably beautiful scent by Strange Invisible Perfumes for the Mystery of Musk project - Temple of Musk. Very special myrtle from the perfumer's family estate or something like that.
It is a shame SIP have not added it to their collection for general sale. I wish they would .

[mr. reasonable]

Idylle Duet.

Last night I attended a Guerlain event held in collaboration with Fendi and a local interior design company.

It was basically play-time for grown ups . . . check out the interior stuff, chat with the guy from Fendi making a handbag on the spot, play with the goods and then listen to a talk from Guerlain's Head of Fragrance about L'Art de Matiere series, complete with video presentation and samples of benzoin, orris, oakmoss and other raw materials passed around. It was great - very informal and really fun to see people working their way through the perfumes and really getting involved. No pretence, no posing, sort of a pyjama party atmosphere, I guess. Everyone walked out with cool little black fans impregnated with Bois d'Armenie, Rose Barbare, Tonka Imperiale or whatever took your fancy and a goodie bag that included a bottle of Idylle Duet. I should mention that I don't bat an eyelid when this happens (the fact that Guerlain should only hand out bottles of a perfume marketed to women at a VIP event) because I seem to be one of only two male 'VIPs' who gets invited to these things. Fortunately mr. frowned-upon (fellow basenoter) was there (as was our own ms. coconut) but even if he hadn't shown up I'm cool with being the only guy in a room full of elegant women spraying perfume with gay abandon.

I feel reasonably well qualified to comment on Duet because I know Idylle, the original, pretty well from the launch here a couple of years back - it was a big event attended by Thierry Wasser (nice guy) and others from Paris, as part of their Hong Kong / Shanghai / Beijing Tour. So my introduction was not the usual modest 'haze' of Idylle on a scent strip so much as inhaling the stuff for a good hour or so. The air in the cocktail space in Central was thick with it so my 'scent memory' of Idylle is clear as a bell and very tactile, to put it mildly, and I have bought bottles for a couple of 'non perfumista' ladies who I think enjoy it.

Duet strikes me immediately as an 'effortless' rose and patchouli. It is clearly Idylle, but dressed for cooler weather. When Idylle was launched here the boutiques all had five paper lined wine-glasses set out on the counter so you could smell the individual notes in the composition. Not a big thing, but when you consider the usual way of hitting people with a spritz in the mall, this more 'educational' approach, coupled now with the small story on the box of Duet about how these two notes have been 'brought forward' from within the original Idylle, appeals to me. It's marketing, sure, but it also gives the customer the beginnings of some insight into what the thing is made of.

Anyway, I like the lift of the rose - something about it made me think of Malle's 'Une Rose'. It's not as robust, of course, but it has the same dark shade to me, at least initially. The patchouli is incredibly well handled. It's always a balancing act this combo and particularly with a composition that is clearly aimed at bringing a new Guerlain customer into the fold I would imagine getting it right is a real feat of calibrating the patchouli with everything else. It seems to evolve nicely, and from what I can see it handles itself well in terms of projection - it's there, but not in your face as can happen when patchouli is involved.

I have no idea of how this has been doing in the marketplace or what you ladies of basenotes think of it but as a guy sitting on the sidelines I can say I like it - I think it has a certain sophistication about it that bodes well for the future . . . I imagine it will do well over here.

PS Moved this to HK Forum with pics from the evening for anyone who is interested

http://www.basenotes.net/threads/268...15#post2283515

[Leilahdancer]

Today I sniffed Coco by Chanel for the third or fourth time. Decided to wear it. I took some steps to add a little longevity and I have to admit, I like it better this time. I loved the spicy, "sparkling" stuff at the beginning. The middle fell a little flat. I'm beginning to think I may not like jasmine? Then the base stepped up. I really enjoy the scent's warmth and hint of spice, but must say, I wish it ws "more". More spice, more heat more sweetness, more smoke, more something!

This is considered such a classic, I'll probably try it again, but so far, cannot justify a bottle...

[Mimi Gardenia]

Leilahdancer - Coco smells wonderful on my mother but whenever I try it , I feel overwhelmed . It's a beauty but I can't justify a bottle of it either . I think I just enjoy smelling this on others.

[Warum]

Mimi,
your description of Ichnusa sounds exciting! This one must be gooood.

I haven't tried the Extreme, but I did like Premier Figuer without the extreme... and it seems to me, without coconut as well. I liked it.

[thatbrownelf]

Got a sample of No. 19 Poudre, and I'm not quite sure what to think. The original No. 19 was much too piercingly sharp for my tastes, and while Poudre is definitely softer and pretty, it's gone in an hour. I guess 19's not a lucky number for me. :/

[arwen_elf]

Today I smelled Prada Candy, I expected to like it, but instead it was a scrubber on me . I don't wash off perfumes too often, but this one was bad. It smelled like baby powder, old-fashioned face powder. Not only not my thing, but really awful on me. I am glad it gets along well with some of my fellow Basenoters. Who wants a free 5ml decant? Write me a pm.

[arwen_elf]

I tested on the skin today Musk Ravageur -- just to find out that it is strong musk, and perhaps not my thing.

Kenzo Fleur de Prunier -- it's a limited edition and I smelled it and will keep a sample because it will remind me of my friend overseas. But I am not that impressed with the scent per se, although it is nice.

Nina Ricci -- Delice d'Epices. I like it a lot more than I expected, and will sample again!

Warum, I bought Delice d'Epices a few months ago. I found it very lovely. I am surprised it did not get more conversation from bloggers.

[knit at nite]

mr reasonable--- sounds like a great time!!!

today I sniffed Estee Lauder Pleasures Bloom while running through Macy's to another store in the mall.
Nothing to recommend unless you want something safe for your auntie, who happens to be a lifelong EL fan, to wear to church to smell "nice". Synthetic in the opening opening and can't discern what kind of blooms are supposed to be blooming here.

[rtamara41]

Portrait of a Lady for the first time.
My thoughts went like this:
"Oh, thank god, I won't need a bottle of this expensive stuff." Three minutes later, "Wait a second....this is marvelous, this is beautiful, this is more complex than I thought...." and then came the gravity of the incense, tethering the flighty rose notes and I thought, "OMG I HAVE to arrange a bottle split or get a decant, or get more samples," and THEN after about two hours, it had died down to a thin sweet honey rosy presence that I am not sure I like or need in my life at all. If I could have just stopped it at the divine spicy incense phase. Or not. 300 (as in dollars per bottle) is a big number.

Conclusion: must test again.

[rtamara41]

Today I have Dans Tes Bras on one wrist and Eau l'Hiver on the other. I am unimpressed. I attribute this to the journey my nose has taken recently into big classic scents like Joy, Aromatics Elixir, Chanel no. 5 and Bandit. There is just not enough happening in these two, rather flat, linear creatures. Salty, the one, clean, the other, both of them are boring me today. Eau l'Hiver reminds me of washed marzipan, if that makes any sense at all.

A couple of years ago I loved these two. What happened? I really think it's about where I am at in my fragrance journey.

[Mimi Gardenia]

rtamara- I guess our tastes change. Mine has as well but a bit in reverse to yours. I love L'eau d'Hiver but Dans Tes Bras ...not so much .
Knit- yes Pleasures Bloom is quite synthetic and generic to me too but for some reason, I love it. Maybe because it's soapy in the way the original Pleasures is and Pleasures Bloom is very easy to wear to the gym . I find Pleasures and Pleasures Bloom to be 'hazy ' and gauzy type scents.
Talking of Pleasures, I re-sniffed this one because Kevin ( Guyer ) has said it has 'a Dove soap vibe' to it in an earlier thread and it does ! Pleasures is a greener and sharper scent ( lily of the valley ?? ) to Pleasures Bloom which has a woody- vanilla base with a fruity ( grapefruit ) top .
At one time, I really disliked Pleasures and didn't 'get it' but I get it now. I am quite fond of it. My sister is still using the bottle of Pleasures she has, as a room spray . *LOL*

On my weekend travels I tested Auric Blends Egyptian Goddess- their bestseller. ( It reminds me of Ava Luxe musks - to me , Ava Luxe has a distinct underlying pleasant ' Ava Luxey ' tone . If you get what I mean . )
Very pleasant and it goes powdery florally mixed with musk as it wears on. When I was paying at the checkout of Whole Foods , the cashier was really taken with the smell of Egyptian Goddess on me . I didn't think anyone could smell it. Good and subtle stuff .
I also tested Nemat Oils at Whole Foods and Kuumba Made oils.
In total I am still reminded of Ava Luxe's oils/ musks which is a good I guess. I loved Narcissus by Nemat Oils but decided I have enough perfume so I didn't buy ! Plus DH was breathing down my neck ! *LOL*

At Sephora :Narciso Roderiguez's Essence Eau de Musc - quite pleasant to begin with and then it dropped into cheapo Iso E Super - a helluva lot of it too .
NR Essence ( original ) - much better ! This reminds me of Cashmere Mist by Donna Karan .
Both were pretty subtle but looong lasting .
Hermes Jardin Sur Le Toit - the fruit notes should have appealed to me but frankly, I didn't enjoy the overall aroma. I find it odd. I think there is that green mango note in it like Sur Le Nil . I will have to test again.

At Macy's - Philosophy's Falling In Love.
I discovered recently that I am extremely partial to blackberries !!! So I sprayed on Falling In Love with glee and hoping it would give me a sense of what Trish McEvoy's # 9 smells like. I read they are similar. I certainly hope that for the price of Trish McEvoy#9 - it smells much better than Falling In Love.
Pheee-ew ! Falling In Love is far too tart and far too sweet simultaneously. The vanilla smells cheap after a while and there isn't that blackberry muskiness going on either. It's a pass for me. And it damn well lasts- ain't that always the way...
Baby Grace- for the umpteenth time...
Very similar to Bobbi Brown's Bath but I have to admit- Baby Grace is superior to Bobbi Brown's Bath concoction.
The only thing I will say is BB Bath is more neroli and I really don't know what Baby Grace smells like but it's snuggly and good . However both DO smell synthetic and Baby Grace smells even more so in the dry down . I still like it though.
I was THIS close, THIS close to buying Baby Grace when DH appeared and halted me. Darn it. *LOL*
DH is totally unimpressed by Baby Grace .
His take is ...
DH :"You have Fracas and Hypnotic Poison. "
MG : " Yees, darling ."

[rogalal]

He he.

I'm officially jealous of Mr. Reasonable!

I went sniffing today and smelled a few of interest.

One of my guys at Neimans was on a big Piquet kick, so he led me through a few. Baghari was initially the most interesting, a rich thick stew of fruits and flowers that smelled classic, not like a modern fruity floral. I'm not doing it justice with this description... But it dried down to a lackluster soapy baby powder smell. I really need to try it on and give it some real thought. Seriously, those topnotes were awesome.

Visa was a perfectly pleasant old-school "oriental" fusing citrus with amber over a subtle maze of cinnamon and butter. This could either be brilliant, boring, or end up smelling like french toast. One to sample later.

Cravache was a weird one. One of my favorite perfume tricks is when they use a pinch of lavender over a citrusy cologne to make it smell dirtier. Cravache was kind of like that, but all dirt and very little citrus, so it ended up as a sort of deep, woody lavender. And it ended up drying down to amber and woods. It was the least striking on paper at the store, but the one I'm finding the most intriguing now.

I also popped by Chanel to re-smell Cuir de Russie. I wrote a little blurb about it on my blog today, but felt kind of dumb, not having worn it in a while. It's actually more openly floral than I remember (I remember it being more violet-focused, but today's sniff also had a Joy-esque field of flowers humming in the space between the violets and the lush suede). Pretty awesome - I need to get another sample of this...

On the masculine side, I ended up wearing a spritz of Grey Flannel, which I ended up quite liking. Bright violets and deep, dark leafy greens and inky-dark herbs. Almost leathery, but closer to a soapy suede played out under the inky darkness and the happy greens. The soapy drydown is disappointingly bathroom-cleaner-esque, but it's still a nice piece of work.

I kind of liked all three of the new Tom Ford scents. Violet Blond had an interesting old-school vibe, kicking off with a modernist top of violets, aldehydes, and raspberry jam before settling into a musky, woodsy, tobacco-ish (maybe?) suede-ish heart that I couldn't place, but that definitely didn't smell very 2011 - in a way, at least in a precursory sniff, it reminds me more of the Guerlain little black dresses or even simplified portions of Tabac Blond than Tom Ford. I expect more chatter on this one as it becomes more widely available.

Black Violet was essentially a dark, autumn flanker to Violet Blond, where he amped up the raspberry jam with some of that Tom Ford signature patchouli he uses in a lot of his private blends. Nice, with perhaps a wink and a nod to Feminite du Bois, with it's dark, jammy flowers, but still quite modern in its candied sweetness.

Santal Blush was a favorite for me from first sniff. I'm not sure if it has what it takes to replace Le Labo's Santal 33 as my current obsession, but it was buttery and spicy and incence-laden and just the kind of sandalwood that I'm into.

The big news at Diptyque was an interesting project they're working on, giving their favorite noses free reign to create something uniquely Diptyque as limited edition items. Olivia Giocabetti did a mindblowing candle representing the desktop of Diptyque's owner, fusing old woods with dried flowers and smoke and the smells of an old office full of aging leather and books. I tried to buy one, but they're not actually in stock yet. Nose Fabrice Pellegrin did a deeper darker take on their recent 34 called Eau Mage, a smoky, creamy, green affair that wasn't a big attention-grabber on first sniff, but which has unfolded into something really amazing over the course of the day. Nose Olivier Pescheux contributed Eau Particuliere, inspired by an old-fashioned eau that would be sprayed around the house or used in bathing in addition to being worn as a perfume. It was a instant stunner from the bottle, bright citrus and greens that quickly settled to the unforgettable smell of Moroccan mint tea, ending up as a cup of tea in a grassy field of soapy flowers. I need to give both of these a real wearing whenever I can.

Honestly, I was pretty shocked by the quality of the new ones I sniffed today. Both the Diptyques and the Tom Fords were really well done. I haven't been very drawn to much new yet in 2011, but fall may be shaping up into a really good time for perfumes...

[SculptureOfSoul]

Just got my sample of Washington Square by Bond No 9 from Ebay in today.

Notes: Italian bergamot, geranium, tarragon, purple rose, honey, vintage amber, leather accord, vetiver and musk

I wasn't expecting much from this scent based on the reviews (although I take most Bond reviews with a grain of salt as I've found that the general disdain for the brand often times carries over unfairly into the perception of the scents) but I must say I am very, very impressed.

In fact, this is the first time I've been really moved by a scent (you guys know the feeling - it's wonderful, and it happens all too rarely!) in quite some time.

Washington Square opens with a wonderful astringent bergamot note that is unique in its application as it's not really tied to anything later on. This seems like an odd choice - a tart citric opening that quickly fades into a floral/herbal heart, but the juxtaposition is really awesome. The bergamot quickly fades leaving on a hint of tartness as a reminder it was once there, and what develops is a floral herbal fruity affair. They say they use "purple rose" in this, and if I had to guess I'd say the accord is based off of the Burgundy Iceberg rose which has a sweet scent reminiscent of honey. Also present is a dark almost grape-like note - could this be the tarragon interacting with the rose? Tarragon has an anise like facet to its green profile, but the note present in WS is more dark grape (even a hint of wine, perhaps) than anise. The geranium is subdued and I believe used more for its texture than scent - geranium has this rounding effect on notes.. it behaves kind of like an aldehyde in that sense. Careful sniffing does reveal an actual geranium note but it's definitely just a supporting note for this dark, honeyed fruity rose in the heart.

The tarragon and vetiver come out more as time goes on and combine to create a green woody note that calls to mind the green/woody rosemary note in Guerlain's Tonka Imperiale. Combined with the honey, another note that WS and TI share, there is definitely a similarity between the two scents but the accords, although similar, are rendered in completely different 'color palettes'. Whereas Tonka Imperiale is composed primarily of warm reds and browns, Washington Square is a far cooler affair rendered in lilac/burgundy/white with hints of green (the picture on the bottle is a good example of the 'color palette' of the scent.)

While Tonka Imperiale is quite warm throughout, WS is actually quite "cold" upon application - cold and velvety smooth - it calls to mind large snowflakes lazily drifting to the ground on a silent winter evening. WS warms up in the dry down as it begins to resemble TI more and more, but the character of the scents is still quite different. TI is the extroverted uncle, chomping away on numerous gourmand goodies and telling jokes around the fireplace, while WS is the introverted cousin who enjoys the warm christmas-y atmosphere and his uncle's good jokes, but sits in the chair nearest the window and steals many a glance outside at the virginal, serene landscape as his thoughts drift to and fro.

WS starts out leaning feminine, although not any more so than many of the modern masculines (eg: Kenzo Power, Dior Homme), and becomes more masculine although still decidedly unisex as it dries down. Like TI, it seems neither masculine nor feminine - it is genderless but perhaps not seasonless. I've always thought of TI as a "winter only" fragrance as its scent evokes such strong holiday images, and I think WS may fall into the same category. It does seem a bit more versatile than TI though, being less gourmand and less overtly rich (although it does have a smooth richness to it thanks to a large dose of honey).

All in all, this is a wonderful scent that is unlike anything else out there (I compare it to TI mostly because of its strong seasonal feel, and far less so because of the accord they somewhat share). My favorite Bond alongside Harrods Swarovski Ltd. Edition.

edit: Added the notes list to the top of the review. Also thought I should mention that every single note listed is clearly evident in this scent (even the supporting notes), and that there is a subtle but constant evolution throughout that is really quite admirable. Also, the leather note is more "suede-like."

[teardrop]

l was in the local Lush shop today, & tried out The Smell of Weather Turning, from their Gorilla Perfumes line. l've been wanting to try this one for a while, having been intrigued by the description on their website, but it's an online exclusive, not usually available in their shops. However, l found out through a friend that they had a few bottles stashed out back following a perfume event they held recently (How did l miss that?! Darn!). So l asked nicely & they brought one out for me to spray!

The notes are "rain on grass, smoky notes & sweet hay", although l didn't have that knowledge to hand when trying it.
The opening is a blast of very dark, green, smoky herbs. Reviewers mention a mint note, but l didn't get that on my skin. This quickly develops into a quite disturbing smell of burning rubber, which persists strongly for a couple of hours before it morphs into an ozonic, marine-like scent with floral elements. Five hours after application, this stage is still detectable.

This is supposed to evoke the smells experienced before, during & after a passing storm, & l'd say that in a way it achieves that. The mid-phase is certainly dark, troubling & rather unsettling, & after this fades it really does feel as though the storm has passed, the sun has come out, & the flowers are exhaling in the fresh, rain-washed air.
This isn't something l could wear, but it's certainly an unusual & complex fragrance, & it's good to know that Lush are producing stuff that's a bit "out there" rather than just appealing to mainstream tastes. lt's inexpensive, & might appeal to those who enjoy "masculine" fragrances.

[Mimi Gardenia]

Comme des Garcons' Kyoto .
I was very interested to sniff this as the reviews have been quite good. It's a very very good light male/female incense / woods. I am not sure when I would want to smell like this scent but it smells very very familiar - like a memory lodged in my brain somewhere. Maybe memories of Asia - of the light waft of incense sticks burning as you walk past a store or something. Maybe even the smell of paper infused with an incensey smell .
Spiritual ,calm and grounding .Good for meditation if you must wear something whilst forgetting the mind.
I guess you could get a similar effect by lighting some japanese style incense and standing near it for an hour. You would smell like this scent.

Serge Lutens' L'eau.
My 2nd sniffaroo of 'the most expensive soap' frag in the world . It's MUCH better this time round ( sampled this last year - thank you Boosh ) - perhaps because I know what to expect and I have been on a soap kick. Anyhow, obviously I am now soap biased so I don't know how much water ( ) my little review holds.
Extremely pleasant - sharp soap vibe and then a subtle complexity of mild flowers after. MUCH better than both Baby Grace and Bobby Bath combined. Much less synthetic than the Bobbi Brown and Baby Grace.
If you are going to do the 'shower fresh thing - do L'eau - it's probably the best I have smelt in this category. CLEAN - the brand - being the absolute bottom of the heap.

[cello]

So, this "sniff" has turned into full review level sniffs. Have any of you checked out the Sample of the Day thread under General Fragrance category? Or am I being harsh and critical? I just don't want the Sample of the Day thread to die a slow, unused death. Unisex, for anybody, foolish and inexperienced (oh, wait, that is just me ) or experienced sniffers. It is.....the Sample of the Day thread. (this is the last blast I am going to say about this duplication of efforts - I give up)

Today, I sniffed a FM fragrance....but I'm going to save my impression for another thread

Edit: I realized that I sounded bitchy, and I certainly don't mean to be. It is just the "compartmental" part of me coming out. I have, in the past, found a lot of great frags to try by searching under "sample of the day", a long standing monthly thread. Now it seems that a lot of great initial impressions are going to be under multiple thread names and harder to find as the months pass. That is the though behind my snarky post

Carry on as you like and see fit, of course

[Sugandaraja]

I've got to sample two intriguing perfumes today among others Mimi was kind enough to send.

Sweet Redemption caught my attention the most. The first half-hour was absolutely stunning, starting with a limpid green petigrain the way Love & Tears did, and a very fresh yet honeyed animalic orange flower note. It's a little like someone took the honey note from Black To Black and added it to a truly excellent neroli. Fresh yet quite skanky.

The middle part of this fragrance ( not just the heart, but the next five-odd hours ), I'm not so much a fan of. SR loses that vivid forest flowers feeling and goes floriental, a distinct opoponax note coming in on a lot of sweetness. It's a little like marshmallows dusted with Shalimar. The stated myrrh note is no-where to be found; this all about her sweet sister, opononax. It's vanillic in a sweet balsamic way but not smelling of vanilla. Somewhere in these hours it reaches a rather uncomfortable level of sweetness, where I just thought ''too much!'', but thankfully it changed once again and I found myself appreciating the time deeper in the base much more. Here I noticed tuberose and a hint of something cool, lilac-y almost.

Really, the deep base notes of Sweet Redemption aren't a million miles away from Tubereuse Criminelle's drydown, but this is much warmer and more oriental. There's a sweet, powdery, rather edible type of white flowers accord in this I associate with this one and Boucheron Femme, Daphne, and Fleur du Male. It often appears in orange flower accords, but I'm not sure why, as orange flowers smell nothing like these fragrances.

Though the sillage is never big, the longevity on this one is excellent, and I find myself appreciating the time deeper in the base much more.

Overall, this is the most interesting of the soliflores in this line, but not my favorite. I find myself wishing that either it retained the fresh, streamlined quality of the opening ( Which would have made it orange flower Love & Tears, but what's not to like about that? ), or added some drier, more resinous notes and explore the hinted-at Shalimar side. None the less, well worth trying in case: it's not often a fragrance can keep me sniffing and writing notes all day!

On the other hand... Manguier Métisse. Oh dear. While it matches most of the descriptors of a mango ( fruity - yes, sweet - yes, sulfur facets - you betcha! ) the actual smells are terribly wrong. For one it's totally lacking any tangy freshness. It's not dried fruit, either. It's kind of stale, apathetic fruit note overlain with the smell of... farts. Sorry, there it is. I'm reading the notes I wrote on it and the underlined the descriptor ''mango farts'' three times. There's a leathery-rubbery thing going on the background, too. It all catches rather unpleasantly in the throat.

The drydown gets sweeter and sweeter ( oddly, in some places not unlike the floral-balsamic side of the - much nicer - Sweet Redemption ), but it's flower- and resin-sweet not fruit-sweet. It's rather harsh and flat, even after the intestinal fruit has departed after a few hours.

As is so often the case with scrubber-quality fragrances, excellent longevity for Mango Mephisto!

[Sugandaraja]

Cello - one thread work well for me too, I'd be happy if the mods could merge, but as both seem quite active, I alternate.

[cello]

Gotcha, Sug. I agree, a merge would be ideal. But others may see it differently than me, and that is fine too

[Mimi Gardenia]

I always start out quick sniffing but my brain and my mouth get the better of me . Then I ramble on . It's really just a quick sniff , not a review as such . Maybe a quick sniff review .
See - I'm rambling again !
I didn't mean to ignore the Sample Thread .

[cello]

Hey, mimi, I think you've hit on an essential point. The Sample of the day was never meant to be full reviews, but somehow, maybe it became that to some extent. I always take the title very literally - my sample for the day. A sniff, a thought, an unfilled impression, a full review - whatever. Sample of the day doesn't mean a review. There is a separate place for that Quicky thoughts are equally important, we all do that. They lead is to rule something out, or explore further, depending on the description of the frag. Tell me "big white floral" and I'm out of there. That is equally important as a full review in some case.

Anyway, I certainly was not singling out anyone specific. Just a general impression and my general thoughts.

[Mimi Gardenia]

Suga - mango farts !!!!! *LOL* Yes I got that too but didn't have the words but you're right . Apologies to all who love this scent - it just wasn't that ripe juicy mango I wanted .
I dare not try the Huitieme Art Pear scent now - I doubt it's pear in the style I love the pear note.

On to Penhaligon's Amaranthine !
By gosh and golly - this is a 5 star scent ! I'm damned late sampling this . I bow to thee Mr. D - oh ye great perfumer .
First sniff - This smells like Jicky EDP. It's rich , sweet , savory with a lovely , most ' friendly ' and addictive underlying skank. Really gives it a richness . This stuff lasts and progresses. Warm and cuddly dry down with that banana leaf note.

Kyoto by CdG is still humming away but smelling a touch manly !!

Sergie's soap effort is also going and going !

[teardrop]

Suga, l lol'd at "mango farts" too! l'll definitely give that one a miss.

Cello, l totally get your point. My impression was that the Sample of the Day thread was for more detailed impressions of fragrances of which one has a sample or bottle, while this thread is for "quick sniffs" or spritzes from testers. Like Mimi though, l do tend to start rambling when describing what l've smelled! Of course there is a place for full reviews, but l try not to post mine until l've worn a fragrance a few times. These threads are an enjoyable way to post one's first impressions, which of course may change after a few wears.
Perhaps it is time to merge the two threads, though; l agree they do appear to have got a bit mixed up!

[Mimi Gardenia]

Good points from Suga, Cello and Teardrop .
The threads do seem to overlap somewhat. Miss Mimi Blabbermouth just cannot keep the quick sniffs to a couple of lines. *LOL* *LOL*

[Twolf]

Cello -- I knew it would happen, from the very start. (Do not feel bad, I have a "sick" Virgo in my Natal chart somewhere too -- just to make you feel better).

Suga -- we told you! No mango there, zilch, nada. Not a very harmonious scent altogether.

[Mimi Gardenia]

1.White Musk Egyptian Oil ( thanks sweetheart Suga !!!!! ) - really very good. Rivals any of the niche white musks out there. Just HAD to test ! Mmmmmmm.
In fact, in 2008 - I had a niche musk scent which smelt exactly like this one. This smells like Montale Musk to Musk ( which I had in my collection ) OMG it's damned good !

2.Mixed Flowers perfume oil .
Better than Michele Bergman's Black Gardenia of which this is a 'smell a like' to me. This one is less candy sweet, very lovely and addictive. Deeper and sexier than BG.

3.'Full' perfume oil ( maybe Fullah - a type of rarer Jasmine ? )
I have tried one other Fullah jasmine perfume called Fullah by Maison Dorin. I was in ecstasies over it - if Jon Rodgers remembers ?
This seems to be along the same lines- a purer ,lighter, more delicate jasmine. LOVE !
Literally, right now I feel I am standing ,visiting some great perfume store ,from these aromas. Nothing overpowering but just beautiful smells.


I have been sniffing more of these oils and my conclusion so far is ...
if I lived in Egypt ,those perfume shops would never get rid of me. *LOL* Migraines be damned and all that.
I just get the feeling the perfume oils direct from the middle east are less 'cut' or finer, much purer than what we get here in the uS.

[chaplain]

Sniffing: Roja Dove's BUZZ!!!

Yes, I know its association with unsavory media. Its cheap bottle/box presentation, etc...And absolutely no one, that I can find, has talked about the juice. But I must say, I kinda like it. It was a blind buy for me at a very reasonable $30 price tag. I figured: How bad can it be?? If he's willing to put his name on it, it's not going to be swill.

Initial impressions: It's a warm, sensual, beautiful and heady bouquet. (I'm getting a lot of ylang-ylang and sandalwood.) And I am glad to have purchased it. It's not a stand out in my wardrobe, but I can see myself reaching for this often. Easy to wear and lovely.

One last word about this fragrance: I remember that he was interviewed/grilled about his association with The Sun...yada, yada, yada. He confessed that he understood why people thought the collaboration odd. But that in the end, BUZZ is still his work. It's still a Roja Dove. I concur. Roja for the masses. And well done, imo!

[30 Roses]

This afternoon at West Farms mall I stopped into the newly-opened Anthropologie store, and tried the 6 fragrances in the "A Rather Novel Collection" series.

I will only comment briefly on two of them:
Hamarikyu Gardens reminded me of the discontinued (and superior) Thymes Fig Leaf & Cassis, although at the end it shares some notes with Privet Bloom.
Cape of Good Hope is long lasting and warm. It reminds me in some ways of SL Un Lys -- if you like Un Lys, try this and see what you think.