April 2012 Blind Sniff: Cure for Cold

[Twolf]

Hi folks,

Hope this one will post. Also hope Saripatates, the host, comes and chimes in.

[FrouFrou]

I have been carrying the samples with me for three days in case we got to start the blind sniff.

[mumsy]

I'm here too.

[shadesofbleu]

I'm going to sticky this to the top ... Will someone please remind me when finished so I can un-sticky? Thanks!

Good luck to all the guessers!

[FrouFrou]

Thanks for sticking it!
So FYI, I am ready, all days, all times. So any time you decide will be ok for me.
So frustrating that basenotes was offline, I was getting worried that I was the only one who coulnd't get on, and that the sniff had already begun!

[meowmo]

ooohhhh i like the theme!!!!!

[Warum]

I have finally come through. Could not access BN for days since I came back home -- not just me, I presume.

But here I am. I will be guessing if I am here while the Sniff is on!

[mumsy]

I'm here again, samples at the ready.... can we go yet? Frou Frou and I will turn inside out with temptation soon......

[Twolf]

Please wait for Saripatates -- he might post an introduction of sorts or something. Please also describe what you have got -- a hand-drawn card and Turkish treats, so that he does not think I kept them all. LOL

Some of you asked me in a PM what to do with the treats and I told you to go ahead and eat them to test your ability to figure our flavors. If so, what flavors did you get (in case you have not noticed, there was more than one)?

We know that RingER has received her samples too, but I would like to see her here on this thread.

Shades, thanks for your support, dear.

[Warum]

I'm going to sticky this to the top ... Will someone please remind me when finished so I can un-sticky? Thanks!

Good luck to all the guessers!

Thanks bunches! Will do.

[mumsy]

I shall describe the package instead. There are three vials that look like keyrings and they sit within a little open box on my desk staring at me and daring me to resist their charms. They are still within their plastic bubble wrap because I daren't even handle them because I know I will be unable to resist putting the closed lid to my nose. It is the sweetest and most delicious sort of perfumista cruelty. They came with a little heavy baggie of delicious looking turkish delight and I didn't dare eat that either at first as i was unsure whether it was related to all or one of the perfume games. In waiting for an answer, my curiosity got the better of me and I popped one of the smaller bits into my mouth. Completely delicious. I needed no bidding to be allowed to try the others.

I guessed Rose by the colour but the taste was like floral pistachio nuts, the pale one I was guessing Vanilla by the colour, but it tasted of very creamy sugar and I couldn't guess the other because I had already hoovered it.

I'm fine waiting. It's just excitement..... and waiting makes it all the more poignant. I'm just worried everyone else will be all ready and waiting when I have got busy and am offline.

[FrouFrou]

Pufff, Basenotes is finally back on line. I am carrying my samples everywhere I go in case we can get going.

I have tried to just take a little bit of each bit of Turkish Delight, one was definitely rose, but ended up eating all of it, they were delicious!

[FrouFrou]

Pufff, Basenotes is finally back on line. I am carrying my samples everywhere I go in case we can get going.

I have tried to just take a little bit of each bit of Turkish Delight, one was definitely rose, but ended up eating all of it, they were delicious!

[mumsy]

I'm glad you ate all yours too. I was feeling like I was a piggy, and if I was, I do not regret a single sugary second. Thank you Monsieur Potatoes. Am I allowed to call you that?

[RingER]

Finally able to access Basenotes! I haven't dug into samples or Turkish Delight, but will indulge my sweet tooth I think! I am sorta tied up with kiddie care tonight as husband is out of town on business for the week, but after sweet bedtime, I can post (always assuming that basenotes stays up!)

[sarıpatates]

Sure you can Mumsy. Sorry for this slightly orphaned thread, apparently we can't have a thread where the full introduction is in the first post now. Although I guess TWolf can edit hers later.

It's been a weird month. Lots of coughs all around, especially basenotes and me. I actually had a cold this week. Although it's the end of april by now, I think it was funny that all this stuff is appropriate for our theme, which is:

As the northern hemisphere finally says goodbye to the cold weather, we begin our April Blind Sniff, with "cure for cold" as a theme. Cold is such a nemesis for the lovers of fragrances, isn't it? Not only we can't smell the fragrances properly, most of us don't even wear perfumes for other people's sake to prevent tainting their perception of the fragrances they love. To make matters worse, even with all the advances in medicine, there is no "cure" for the cold. Seven days with medicine, a week without them.

Perhaps because of that ancient remedies are still alive in case of a cold, and it always comes in a fragrant way. Teas and concotions made with citrus, herbs, spices and flowers are still around, probably as widely used as an over the counter cold medicine, if not more. Every person would at least have one note they associate heavily with colds as some of these remedies are pungent enough to penetrate the most clogged nostrils. Surely some of these are amongst the notes often described with the umbrella term "medicinal".

Fragrance and medicine are not that far off from each other. Oils used as fragrances in egypt, india and arabia were also taken internally, as medicine. Even the first alcohol based western fragrance, the hungary water, was originally a medicine. Used both orally and topically. Now that the connections are established, I hope the theme makes more sense in a fragrance forum.

Have fun!


Now, if you have already eaten your turkish delights ( they were scented with rose [square, pink] and mastic [rectangular, pale] by the way) please get to work on vial A. Sniff, spray and test to your hearts content. Please mention every bit you find noteworthy. A review -as long as you like- would also be nice. I'll try to be online as much as possible during the game, and will provide clues when necessary. Twolf the all-knowing also knows the fragrances and she can help as well. If you are feeling lucky, you can pm me or her any time.
Good luck!

[Twolf]

Ancient remedies all the way! My Oma (paternal Grandmother) says: "If you cure your cold -- it lasts 2 weeks, if you don't -- 14 days!"

PM us both. And you, S., I have hard time PMing you, I do not know why.

[FrouFrou]

So this is actually IT?
We are starting???

[sarıpatates]

Please do!

[FrouFrou]

OMG! Spices! Lots and lots of cloves!

[FrouFrou]

So let me guess, do ''cloves'' form a part of the notes?
It smells very masculine.
And it reminds me of Dutch winter stews (lots of cloves).

[FrouFrou]

Oops, i have to go, I won't be online for at least an hour!

[FrouFrou]

Do I smell some bergamot?

[FrouFrou]

Nutmeg????

[FrouFrou]

I sort of ''sense'' some flowers, but the spicy clove thing is totally overwhelming my nose.

[FrouFrou]

Woods, cedar? Still totally clovey...

[FrouFrou]

Tobacco? I send a pm to Twolf.

[RingER]

I sprayed A while giving my son his bath, and I know I've never smelled this before. It is packaged in a translucent blue colored vial and I think it is a very pale yellow or clear color. The first spray is a bit nostril stinging with a sharp spicy clove and eucalyptus. It reminds me of the medicines used to help nasal congestion, so it totally fits the theme of this sniff.

20 minutes in now and it's much mellower. Still spicy, with what I think is cinnamon and maybe rosemary. And probably some pine or cedar wood. There's a bit of "sweetness" too, so maybe benzoin.

This is probably marketed as a male scent, and my personal database of these scents is quite inadequate I don't really like that opening, but after that it would appeal to a woman who likes Kenzo Jungle L'elephant or SL Filles en Aiguilles.

[RingER]

FrouFrou, I agree on bergamot. But I'm nowhere near a guess yet.

[Warum]

What a lovely introduction to the theme, Saripatates!

Are you saying that the fragrances in the pack smell like some remedies for cold, have some remedies for cold in them, or are associated with them in terms of names, design, etc.?

[cacio]

What a nice theme! I'm looking forward to hearing more from our sniffers.

In fact, right now by chance I am wearing something that has been described as "medicinal", though I don't think it's one of the three (certainly not the first one - no clove here). The descriptions so far make me think about one particular scent ...

cacio

[Twolf]

RingER sent us a correct guess -- congratulations! First time sniffer, big time winner, most notes she mentions DO tickle my nostrils in A. I also tend to agree about Kenzo L'Elephant similarities, not so much about SL Filles. But altogether, I think you have done wonderfully!

From FrouFrou's combined descriptions, I got one line -- spicy, clovey, and various spices submitted as guesses. Could you please describe what you are actually smelling -- without trying to go through the notes one by one -- that comparison to your Dutch winter stew was very appropriate -- please tell us all what the Dutch stew is about? Meat? Fruit? Comforting? If there is nutmeg -- how much and how it lasts? If there is cinnamon -- is it too aromatic or too dry or Moroccan/Arabic style? If there is pepper -- what kind do you think? Any herbs? Anything else? Would you agree about the woods RingER mentioned? How does the woody component manifest itself? Why do you think A was included into this theme? Pretend you are writing a review for the Directory: listing of the notes is NOT what reviews are about, right?

W., they can be either, or both.

[Twolf]

In case someone finds it amusing, I have also received an incorrect guess of Ava Luxe Kretek, which does not smell really similar to A, not on this skin.

[Twolf]

Cacio, shoot me your guess -- I have always insisted that first impressions are (almost always) right. Or, wait until you hear more from our sniffers.

[sarıpatates]

Congrats RingER! Wow, you are quick. I hope you don't mind waiting for the others
If you want, you could write a small review / impressions while you are waiting.

What a lovely introduction to the theme, Saripatates!

Are you saying that the fragrances in the pack smell like some remedies for cold, have some remedies for cold in them, or are associated with them in terms of names, design, etc.?

Yes, I think they are related to the theme, one way or another. I didn't want to give clues to the fragrances in the intro this time.

[mumsy]

Waaah. I've just got the kids to school and you've started already. I'm going for a scrub up now. I'm not reading what you've written yet before i smell.

[mumsy]

Screeches to a halt at the desk and sprays.....

[mumsy]

Wow, huge cough sweetie. Camphorous, sweet cassie with flowers, fruity pudding thing with oranges, cinnamon or tolu, nutmeg, dried fruit, maybe figs or ripe blackcurrants, vanilla, honey and myrhh. Guerlainy-esque or Sergy Lou sort of thing going on. A changing morphing thing.

[mumsy]

Ok, calm down.... I've been waiting so long I'm all of a dither here.

Start from the beginning....

Juice = pale (hard to tell from the blue container. Will spray a little into a glass vial)

[mumsy]

Juice = very pale yellow like pale straw

I would say expensive or niche. Too many ingredients for a cheapie. It has a fulsome nature.

I would say a hot spicy market stall with all the baskets open and all the lovely spices wafting on the hottest of breezes in an Arabian market somewhere totally exotic.

Is that what you mean as a cure for colds? Hot place?

[mumsy]

Morphing again.... I would say Tolu balsam and Myrrh as a note guess

The floral isn't picking up for me. Maybe orris here but I'm not getting flowers, just gourmand.

There is a gingerbread feel here and christmas pudding with a caramel note, maybe a labdanumy tonka vanillic thing.....

I think I can guess maybe, but I'm not sure....

PM ing....

[mumsy]

zzzzzz

I'm all alone.... they're all asleep coz it's the middle of their night......

[mumsy]

Well, I'm British... Keep calm and carry on.....!!

I have a list of questions posed by Twolf from another sniff... I shall try and answer them

Try on arm = yes
Try on paper = ok...

brings out a citrus note... tangerine? mandarin?
Spices... which? ..... pretty sure this is nutmeg, cinnamon but very gently hence the Tolu balsam guess, black pepper maybe
Something anisic? ..... berryish like cassie but isn't. Could be licorice?
Something camphorous? .... not camphor, but a herbal type of raised smell, rising above the perfume like camphor but isn't, like eucalyptus but isn't,
Something herbal?.... like rosemary or bay leaf
Something Vanillic? .... don't think it has vanilla in huge quantity, but it's creamy, so could be Tonka or the vanillic part of the Tolu
Flowers? .... I'm sure there are flowers here, but i cannot identify any, maybe Iris or violet shades
Fruits .... I'm getting a real figgy thing here, like dried raisins


Sweetness .... medium sweet gourmand
Perfume grade .... edt
Classification .... niche?
Thin or rich .... rich but transparent not cloying
Linear or changing .... definitely changing fast at the beginning, but settling down
Men or women .... unisex, neither floral nor too masculine
New or old .... I would guess more modern than old. It isn't a classic accord going on here.


I'm going to post this and amend it as I smell

[mumsy]

Ooooh , my guesses were totally wrong. Now I'm stumped. I had convinced myself I knew the answer.

[Twolf]

An early riser here, sometimes very early. Your #43 with summing up is pretty impressive, mumsy: many wonderful things going on with A have been covered. Do you personally find it atttractive at all? I do: after the initial blast (and Frou, no, it is not cloves on me, nonono!), it calms down to an excellent and comforting scent.

Sharing my other find: while trying to respond to your messages, I also included "saripatates" in the recipient box to only receive an Error Message -- guess why? -- there is no "dot" over his "i". Please do not get frustrated.

[mumsy]

I've started again calmly

Citrus beginning but only for a second before a cinnamon/nutmeggy spice chimes in. More lemony than I first thought, like bergamot.

Lemon and honey are a cure for colds. I'm getting a honeyish note, sweet-ish and herbal notes too, maybe piney woods.

[mumsy]

I would have had it in the Serge Lutens bracket of nice. I'm not sure if it's my cup of tea, but it's interesting, the start isn't very nice, like spreading a christmas pudding on yourself, but the drydown is wonderful and snuggly, comfy slippers in front of a roaring fire.

The drydown comes fairly fast here on my skin. It's settling to a creamy vanillic with incense notes, darker like myrrh.

Have we any confirmation on notes, or must we agree as sniffers first?

[Twolf]

These are all good observations, so is the mention of something spicy/"anisic"/camphorous/herbal from #43.

[Twolf]

I do not believe I am allowed to confirm the notes, and then again, I am just for help. I would also like FrouFrou to come back at some point. Some sort of note agreement should be reached, yes.

[mumsy]

I'm sniffing my way through the ingredient cupboard and my nose is now totally confused. i shall sit here and sniff a coffee for a bit.

Cypress maybe? My Eucalyptus oil is sweeter than I'm getting off this, but maybe that's the other ingredients toning it down. The Camphor and Eucalyptus I have, both have a minty note which is not in the perfume.

[mumsy]

I think it could be Cassia. That is fruity and anisic, herbal, nutmeggy and camphorous-ish all at once.

[mumsy]

That combination is giving me Ankh in the search directory but it doesn't have the puddingy notes.

I know I'm not going to get a stroke of work done today.....

[mumsy]

This was a calm creamy thing, but it has just taken another unexpected twist into salty.

[mumsy]

I may have guessed Safari, but that doesn't have the pudding there either.

[darkdreams]

This sounds like a very nice perfume. You descriptions make me so curious.

[Twolf]

Not Safari, Safari will be soft and mossy and grassy. A has more spices, the one in particular that you have mentioned.

Yes, DD, both A and the whole line up from that house deserve much more attention, IMO.

[mumsy]

This is savaging my mind....

I was quite firmly stuck on the Serge Lutens thoughtline. But it cannot be any of them then because you say the house needs more attention and he has plenty.

I am wearing Borneo on the other hand and the mystery A has that feel but is much more gentle and citrussy in comparison. It has shades of Borneo but at about 30%.

I thought Shisha by Ava Lux but it doesn't smell of wee.

[mumsy]

Aha, that means it's niche and modern(ish) then if you say the house needs more attention.... and there is a line up of them....

[Twolf]

I would not necessarily jump to confusions, you know.....

Meantime, we have had an incorrect guess of Scents of Time Ankh submitted in a PM.

[sarıpatates]

sorry for not being around as much as possible guys! great job so far, and mumsy I also like what you did with post #43 a lot. great job. it is indeed a complex fragrance to my nose.

Twolf, you can do anything you want, in fact I would appreciate that

If you guys would like some note confirmation, I could do so. ( ringER made her correct guess completely independent on the ingredients though ) I'll be back in 30minutes.

Also, if you guys want to PM me for anything, click on my name and click private message. That would prevent the " ı " problem.