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Sun Jan 28, 2007 4:11 pm  |
| Smoothskin wrote: |
| ParisTroika, I think you should treat yourself to one of these fragrances - you deserve it! I found two bottles of my favorite fragrance and they had been kept in cold storage for nearly ten years and they were in great shape. |
Please Smoothskin, tell us what you have been saving all these years, and how were they stored? Thanks.  |
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51 years old/brunette/normal- oily medium skin. |
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Sun Jan 28, 2007 5:14 pm |
| Two bottles of Laura Biagotti's Venezia kept in a cold storage room unopened and in the original box. |
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Sun Jan 28, 2007 5:46 pm |
| Smoothskin wrote: |
| Two bottles of Laura Biagotti's Venezia kept in a cold storage room unopened and in the original box. |
I don't think I've ever smelled the Venezia. Hope it hasn't been discontinued, I'd like to try a sample.
I also just finished reading your beautifully descriptive review on the Sisley Soir De Lune and am lemming for a sample of that now as well! 
It sounds heavenly. |
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51 years old/brunette/normal- oily medium skin. |
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Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:41 pm |
| I was wearing Soir De Lune today and had three people asking me what I was wearing. Seems like I am having lots of luck with all things Sisley at the moment... (I am also loving their cleanser and toner). |
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Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:04 pm |
Whilst I was visiting my family back up in Northumberland, I gleefully spotted a wonderful new perfume shop. So I took the opportunity to visit each day to try different scents.
I absolutely, whole-heartedly recommend this little shop to anyone travelling to the Northeast of England. It's called Laura Christina and the address is Jubilee Buildings, Middle Street, Corbridge, Northumberland NE45 5AT - telephone 01434 634228
The shop is owned by mum Christina and daughter Laura, both of whom are extremely passionate about perfume. It was a joy to talk with them. They are also one of (I think) only 3 Caron stockists in the country, as well as carrying lines such as Creed, E Coudray, L T Piver, Creed, Devon Violets, T LeClerc cosmetics and Caron face powder. They very much hope to add Frédéric Malle to their list soon too, and their distributor is none other than the famous Les Senteurs shop in London.
As I've mentioned previously, florals really don't suit me at all, transforming rapidly into an unattractive soapy smell. In fact, I do have problems in finding scents to go with my particular skin chemistry. My most successful matches tend to be with spicy orientals.
I hope my testings may help other non-floral enthusiasts to discover potential new perfume partners.
Whilst I did finally find what I truly believe to be my signature fragrance (oh, how long I've searched!), here are some others that were definitely in the running:
Acier Aluminium by Creed - (a stunning, tangy, metallic scent, containing citrus fruit, spices and amber - very unusual and distinctive, like a sweet, fruity sportscar being assembled in a factory)
Epicea by Creed - Russian pine and spices - like walking through a lush, sweet, exotic forest
Baie de Genièvre by Creed - Cinnamon and juniper berries give a tangy, almost sweet-sour fragrance that's very fresh
Orange Spice - Oranges, cinnamons and cloves that make you feel like a walking Christmas pudding
Aimez-Moi by Caron - I actually bought this one. It starts off smelling very sweet, with a strong, fruity, peachy anise scent, the violet jostling for attention all the while. On me, it then mellows slightly into a very romantic, dry, sexy mix of sweet licquorice-coated violet with a hint of vanilla and musk. Everyone who caught the scent on my wrist absolutely adored it. If you love violets and spices, then I'd imagine that this will blow your mind - and it lasted very well indeed
Finally, my new signature scent is (or will be, as soon as I can actually afford to buy it)...Poivre by Caron.
Poivre was created in the 1950s and is one of Caron's famous Fontaine fragrances, dispensed from a perfume fountain into a scent bottle. It's obviously, therefore, more difficult to obtain than the normal Carons.
This, for me, is simply stunning, although I almost choked when I first put my nose to the bottle for a whiff - pure, black pepper assailed my nostrils with a vengeance! But, being in an experimental mood, I decided to be brave and experience it on my skin. I'm so very glad that I did.
The strong Szechuan black pepper topnotes rapidly calmed down on me, tranforming into a bizarre, contradictory mix of warmth, wildness, hot spices, sweetness and mellowness. It's almost bewildering. The pepper is still there, but tamed a little by sweet cloves, vanilla and sandalwood - giving a definite Oriental feel.
I've never come across anything quite like Poivre before. It's something very special and takes you beyond the ordinary. Probably not to everyone's taste, but then that's probably one of the reasons I love it so.
After pondering for some length, I've realised that it actually smells a little like my own body scent (I've always had people sniffing at me and telling me how nice I smell, even when I'm not wearing fragrance) - only considerably more concentrated, obviously. Perhaps that's the secret to finding a scent that works for you and your own body chemistry? |
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Tue Jan 30, 2007 1:51 am |
| Wow! Majorb, that sounds like a gem of a shop and I can't wait to try some of the rare and wonderful fragrances you experienced there. |
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Tue Jan 30, 2007 3:05 am |
And I've just received some more wonderful fragrances to try this morning, Smoothskin! 
For those who don't already know, Les Senteurs in London provide a perfume sampling service, where you can buy freshly decanted samples for £2.50 each, with free delivery. This superb shop is extremely helpful, with the staff being very knowledgeable too.
I ordered:
Parfum de Thérèse
Eau de Reglisse
Sables
Mandragore
Musc Ravageur
Acier Aluminium (already tried this, but wanted a sample to live with for a while as I may end up buying it too)
Les Senteurs also very kindly included, free of charge (I'd told the lovely chap about my difficulty in finding fragrances to suit me and my love of Oriental spices):
Knize Sec
Eau de Gloire
Ambre Russe
So you can guess what I'm going to be doing over the next few days! |
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Tue Jan 30, 2007 7:50 am |
That sounds so fantastic majorb! It sounds like you have such wonderful perfumeries in London.
Sad...I've not seen anything like that. I'd love to just walk into a perfumery
Let us know how those samples work out
So excited to here your reviews! |
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32, Fair Skin, combo/break-out prone. Simple routine of REN No. 1 Purity Cleansing Balm and Argan oil as a moisturizer; Clarisonic when needed. That's it! |
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Tue Jan 30, 2007 10:45 am |
Hi majorb - No perfumeries in my area either.  Your so lucky. I also have a love of oriental spices and fragraces, so please let me know which ones are to die for, and I'll try finding them! Thanks. |
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51 years old/brunette/normal- oily medium skin. |
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Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:45 pm |
| majorb wrote: |
And I've just received some more wonderful fragrances to try this morning, Smoothskin!
For those who don't already know, Les Senteurs in London provide a perfume sampling service, where you can buy freshly decanted samples for £2.50 each, with free delivery. This superb shop is extremely helpful, with the staff being very knowledgeable too.
I ordered:
Parfum de Thérèse
Eau de Reglisse
Sables
Mandragore
Musc Ravageur
Acier Aluminium (already tried this, but wanted a sample to live with for a while as I may end up buying it too)
Les Senteurs also very kindly included, free of charge (I'd told the lovely chap about my difficulty in finding fragrances to suit me and my love of Oriental spices):
Knize Sec
Eau de Gloire
Ambre Russe
So you can guess what I'm going to be doing over the next few days! |
This is so exciting - I love Les Senteurs - they are so generous and helpful. I have only tried three of the fragrances you received samples of (Parfum de Therese, Musc Ravageur and Mandragore) so I would love to read some reviews either of these to compare notes or of the others. I am especially interested in the oriental fragrances.
Lastly, let me share my fragrance experience of the day. I was wearing L'Heure D'Magique and the musky dry down smelled of sweat. It was absolutely dreadful. I tried to layer vanilla based fragrances on top, but could not get rid of the offending scent. My day was not put right untill I got home and showered with my beloved Flying Fox shower gel by Lush. A heady, yet comforting blend of jasmine and honey. |
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Wed Jan 31, 2007 5:27 am |
| sportygirl wrote: |
| Hi majorb - No perfumeries in my area either. Your so lucky. I also have a love of oriental spices and fragraces, so please let me know which ones are to die for, and I'll try finding them! Thanks. |
Sadly, I don't have any perfumeries near me either. I can only visit them when I go to either end of the country (London and Northumberland), whereas I'm stuck in the middle.  |
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Wed Jan 31, 2007 5:33 am |
Musc Ravageur
This smelt off-puttingly strong in the vial, but displayed amazing topnotes immediately when applied to the skin – sweet, balsamic and almost sherbety, with the cloves and cinnamon also to the fore. It reminded me of walking into a sweetshop, but with a vaguely dark, menacing tone. I really thought this was going to be something special for me.
These notes then calmed somewhat and I could smell the exotic woods with a hint of the vanilla and tonka. The lavender and bergamot really didn’t register much at all with me at first, then the citrussy bergamot kicked in and made itself very much known.
This fragrance had quite a powdery scent – which I usually seem to suit. Very strong and bold – not for daylight and definitely not for the faint-hearted.
Unfortunately, after about half an hour, a slight hint of soap had crept in. In the end, the soapy/citrus smell became too much and the scent proved overpowering. I really did want to love this fragrance, but it’s not for me, sadly. So disappointing.
Lavender, bergamot, clove, cinnamon, Gaiac wood, cedar, sandalwood, vanilla, tonka.
Smoothskin - I'd absolutely love to read your opinion on Musc Ravageur. Did it work for you? |
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Wed Jan 31, 2007 9:23 am |
| majorb wrote: |
| sportygirl wrote: |
| Hi majorb - No perfumeries in my area either. Your so lucky. I also have a love of oriental spices and fragraces, so please let me know which ones are to die for, and I'll try finding them! Thanks. |
Sadly, I don't have any perfumeries near me either. I can only visit them when I go to either end of the country (London and Northumberland), whereas I'm stuck in the middle. |
I checked on the net, and I can't even find one in Canada!
Do any of you canucks out there know of one? I'm in Alberta! TIA |
_________________
51 years old/brunette/normal- oily medium skin. |
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Thu Feb 01, 2007 5:36 am |
Eau de Reglisse
In the vial, this smelt strongly of licquorice (from which the perfume gets its name) and citrus, which immediately became a lovely, dry, powdery, sherbet citrus, with a bitter tang slicing through the sweet licquorice on my skin. Fruity and fresh at first, a very “happy” fragrance that sparkles. More simple than complex.
After an hour, the scent became very ordinary on me. The overpowering citrus had diminished somewhat, but the spices only very shyly lurked in the distance and I could hardly detect them. If only this had more more licquorice, less citrus.
I shan’t be buying this one either. It really didn’t do anything much for me.
Licquorice, Sicilian green mandarin, verbena, basil, Indonesian nutmeg, Nigerian ginger, vanilla, musk
So, onto the next one... |
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Thu Feb 01, 2007 9:54 pm |
I must say...I got my Tiffany's sample and I love it.
And it's the first fragrance that my husband has actually said "wow, you smell good."
None of the other ones I've ever worn have illicited such a response from him! 
This one is a winner. I'm already planning my trip up to our new Tiffany's to buy an EDP and lotion.
Gotta make a couple more payments on the card first, but I pay on it a few times a month. |
_________________
32, Fair Skin, combo/break-out prone. Simple routine of REN No. 1 Purity Cleansing Balm and Argan oil as a moisturizer; Clarisonic when needed. That's it! |
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Fri Feb 02, 2007 3:28 am |
Parfum de Thérèse
An initial burst of bright fruit, combined with something I couldn’t quite define, but found intriguing. A couple of minutes later, the freshness of the melon took centre stage, while the spices had just begun to liven things up a little. Then a sea-salt, fresh bluey-greeness suddenly and unexpectedly appeared, like a sailor popping up out of a fruit salad.
Sadly, as time passed this gradually became harsher on me, to the point where it began to smell like a synthetic-laden cheap perfume from a market stall.
Oh dear, I’m not doing very well with these samples so far, am I?
Mandarin, melon, jasmine, pepper, violet, rose, plum, nutmeg, cedar, vetiver, leather
ParisTroika - I'm glad you've had better fragrance luck than me lately!
I've never tried Tiffany - what kind of scent is it? |
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Fri Feb 02, 2007 7:24 am |
I can't find the exact notes in it. It's definitely a floral, which normally I don't do well. It's very elegant, sophisticated, but I can understand why some assert it smells like an older woman. (One gal on Makeupalley mentioned how her grandmother used to wear it). Honestly at first, since I had read some reviews, I kind of felt the same thing. But as I wore it throughout the day, it warmed extremely well and although was a full bodied scent, it was still remarkably light and unobtrusive. It's hard to explain. I even spilled a little on my sleeve and was worried I'd end up stinking of too much fragrance...but that wasn't the case.
The staying power is unbelievable.
From the Tiffany website: Damascena Rose, Indian Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Fleur d’Orange and Iris.
I haven't tried Sheer Tiffany, but from many I've heard it smells synthetic, nothing like original Tiffany. However, when I go to the store, I'll try it to see what I think of it. |
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32, Fair Skin, combo/break-out prone. Simple routine of REN No. 1 Purity Cleansing Balm and Argan oil as a moisturizer; Clarisonic when needed. That's it! |
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Fri Feb 02, 2007 7:32 am |
A floral - sadly, not for me then.
I'm glad you've found something you love, though. It's a great feeling!
Actually, I think I'm so in love with Caron's Poivre that it's spoiling my enjoyment of all other fragrances now. I haven't found anything yet to come close to it. Was hoping to find something much, much cheaper, dammit! |
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Fri Feb 02, 2007 7:36 am |
| Is Poivre de Caron upwards of 1 or $2000 a bottle? |
_________________
32, Fair Skin, combo/break-out prone. Simple routine of REN No. 1 Purity Cleansing Balm and Argan oil as a moisturizer; Clarisonic when needed. That's it! |
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Fri Feb 02, 2007 8:00 am |
| ParisTroika wrote: |
| Is Poivre de Caron upwards of 1 or $2000 a bottle? |
*cough, choke*
Thankfully, no! It's about £135 or so a bottle.
*starts to think that maybe Poivre isn't so expensive after all * |
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Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:03 am |
Oh I know what I saw...I saw a limited edition bottle of Poivre.
THAT'S why I thought it was so expensive (just checked).
135 GBP...that's about 260 USD.
Yes...definitely could be worse. You could want that limited edition bottle! |
_________________
32, Fair Skin, combo/break-out prone. Simple routine of REN No. 1 Purity Cleansing Balm and Argan oil as a moisturizer; Clarisonic when needed. That's it! |
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Sun Feb 04, 2007 8:33 am |
Mandragore
Such an unusual ingredient, magical mandrake. That’s why I desperately wanted to like this fragrance. My first three samples had started off well, but faded to disappointment on my skin. Would this one fare better?
Sweet spices and herbs, with a woody tone and a slight tinge of mint were my very first impressions. There was also a rather too heady whiff of bergamot. It smelt both exotic and refreshing, if a little overpowering on the citrus side.
After a few moments, the mint became even more pungent, and I enjoyed the way it toyed with the other ingredients. Thankfully, the bergamot did tone down somewhat, and this eventually transformed into rather a demure, minty, woody fragrance. Again, another scent that failed to thrill me, another scent that my skin chemistry made mundane. Not horrible, just ordinary.
I’m beginning to think that citrussy scents really aren’t for me – with the exception of my favourite summer fragrance, the scintillating and refreshing Oyédo by Diptyque. What I really want is something slightly dark, dangerous, startling, unusual and unique. Mandragore just isn’t it, sadly.
Bergamot, black pepper, spearmint, star anis oil, boxwood, ginger, mandrake
Paris - I think I might just be able to live without the limited edition bottle, in that case. |
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Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:54 pm |
I finally had a chance to try the Poivre and although I thought I was going to really love this at first, it eventually dried down to a more masculine scent on me. I think the oakmoss and the slightly grassy vetiver notes were a little too loud. I do love its close cousin Bellodgia (of which I happily just purchased again after many years) which is similar, but dries down to a more feminine quality on me. Caron's are always beautiful and complex!
I did just order about 20 perfume samples from Beautifulperfumes.com so can hardly wait to try them all out.
And for all of you Oriental lovers out there (of which I am one) I received a miniature Bal a Versailles parfum by Jean Desprez (1962) and I have fallen hopelessly in love. The regular size is $300, on sale for $180 right now so am very tempted. This is another floriental, but the the florals are very dry, so are not at all cloying, with traditional amber and spice. It has undertones of sweet orange and pure Bulgarian rose. If you love warm spicy Orientals, this one is beautifully refined, a true classic. I've been wearing this for three days and cannot get enough of it. As it is not as "heady" as say, Opium, you can get away with spraying a little more!
I will try to reveiw my samples as I use and get to know them. Happy spraying! |
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51 years old/brunette/normal- oily medium skin. |
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Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:34 am |
sportygirl - Sorry that Poivre didn't work out for you. Actually, that's one of the most exciting, yet sometimes frustrating, things about perfumes - that the same one can smell wonderful, mediocre or foul on different people. There's a joy and great sense of satisfaction in the hunt to find the right one.
You've given me a couple of excellent suggestions to try - the Bellodgia and the Bal à Versailles. I shall do that at the very next opportunity!
Can't wait to read your reviews. |
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Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:35 am |
Sables
Intriguingly warm, very peppery and most definitely masculine initially. This really did remind me of sandy beaches – not in the usual beach scent, tropical fruit/coconut-type way, but more like sand that has been gently warmed in the sun on an isolated beach. It reminded me of something, but I couldn’t remember what. Certainly, for the first few moments, I loved it and kept sniffing at my wrists. It wasn’t pretty-pretty in any way, but the attraction seemed to come from the fact that it smelt very different. Then, once the brisk pepper had died down, I enjoyed feeling enveloped in its warmth and the vague hint of sweet, burnt caramel.
I shall keep trying to remember where I’ve smelt this unusual smell before. I do hope this one doesn’t turn out to let me down after promising so much, like the other samples have done so far.
Half an hour later, the warmth became even more sensual, with the vanilla and sandalwood really heating things up. That’s when I suddenly remembered what it reminded me of – the heady, spicy and exotic Serge Lutens fragrance, and one of my particular favourites, Arabie, but with a smokier note.
Well, by the day’s end, I was still in raptures about this scent. Finally one that I love! It may be too similar to Arabie for me, so I shall try them both on different wrists soon to see.
I’ve certainly decided to look into more fragrances containing Immortelle flowers as they may be one of the very rare florals that actually suit me.
Immortelles, vanilla, sandalwood, pepper |
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