Fragrance Junkie Central

[Mochapj]

I know there are a few of us on BT that are fragrance addicts, so I thought it would be nice to have a dedicated place where we can share our thoughts.

This is not to take away from the lovely What Are You Wearing Today, Fragrance Edition thread, but more a place to post longer reviews, chat about new brands or releases, and just shoot the breeze on anything good and smelly 🙂

For me, I recently acquired 2 new decants that I've been anxiously awaiting.  Ever since Lachaton mentioned that MMM was releasing a new scent called By The Fireplace I've been itching to get my hands on it.  My decant arrived yesterday, so I'm looking forward to marinating in it this weekend.  Secondly, I recently picked up a tiny sample of Shiseido Nombre Noir.  Supposedly it is one of the most expensive failures in perfume history - made by Serge Lutens for Shiseido back in the 80s.  Of course, with a backstory like that, I was dying to get a sniff 😄

What's new on your scent radar?  Do tell!

 

[OlfactoryObsess]

Those sound wonderful, I’ll definitely be checking them out ☺️

[Margalee]

I've decided to give Caroline Herrera GG Blush another try. It seems to smell slightly different than when it first came out. I wonder if some perfumes need to macerate like Middle Eastern perfumes do? Blush was a serious nose tweaker when first released but the sampler I bought smells a little more grounded and I seem to be handling it better. So maybe they were really shoving those shoes fresh off the flower presses for the release. Of course some samples are not as complete as the actual perfume and do tend to vary. I did try Blush Elixir and it came off very coconut. Which wasn't listed in ingredients. It wasn't a tweaker but more coconut than I prefer.

I'm also going to give Prada Paradox another whirl. I'm iffy on this one so I hope I'm not sorry and overwhelmed by the scent.

Unfortunately Mugler Alien Elixir gave me a rash where I applied it. I was able to use Angel for two days without incident and the third day my sensitivities went bananas. Both too much of a good thing I guess. This was not my first trial day of Elixir and I did really like it so I am disappointed. I also saw they changed the Angel Nova traveler to an ordinary bottle. That is quite a bummer too since I love that "crystal" travel bottle. 

I am surprised how much I like Calvin Klein's Euphoria but it turns to skin scent a little early for me. I really didn't expect to favor the scent as much as I do.

Top of the list so far is Chloe Lumineuse . I'll have to try it three days in a row to make sure I can tolerate it. Euphoria also.

The other scents have been in other samplers, I think, so no need to open them since I have a used sample to finish.

[miranaz]

I just purchased the Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Le Parfum # and honestly it does not live up to the hype everyone created.

The scent, at the beginning is nice and strong, but throughout the day gets stronger and more pungent. It smells like a very strong cologne and made me have a headache all day. 

It’s nice for a very fancy event I guess but I wouldn’t be so quick to spend that much money on it. 

[gypsyjoni]

• I too was very disappointed in Yves St Laurent Black Opium Le Parfum, I was not impressed my the beginning notes, middle or end. Too strong, almost overwhelming.

i was a huge fan of the original Opium. Did it get discontinued?

[Titian06]

Hi, @gypsyjoni !  The original Black Opium is on the YSL direct site.  This and the Illicit Green are two of my favorite scents, so I'm happy to see it's still available.

[Margalee]

@miranaz Funny how fragrance is different for everyone. Le Parfum is one of the few Black Opium perfumes I can wear without aggravation and that I really like. Maybe test in store or purchase a discovery set or mini set first. 

[okokliv]

I received a sample of the TOM FORD Bitter Peach Eau De Parfum Fragrance and wow did it blow me away. I've never been a huge fan of peach scents but this one is just so deep and sultry that it genuinely took me by surprise. The bitterness comes through but to me it's a little on the sweeter side. Haven't been able to justify the price tag so I'll be enjoying whatever samples I can grab for now. 

[Margalee]

I found a Chloe perfume that's not a nose tweaker for me! (Besides Nomade) Luminuese. I really like this one. I find it a clean scent that's not typical. I get a little citrus, a little floral and something synthetic? smelling. Must be unknown to my nose. I found Hermes Twilly really odd at first because it had strange, unknown smells

 But I really like Twilly now. Luminuese has a capillary of Twilly's unknown vein in it. If that analogy is understandable. Hahah. Overall I find Luminuese very lightweight. To me, it's more like clothing freshener style or dryer sheets; how you have that nice smell from your clothing instead of a full on perfume. I think I might end up owning a bottle of this one!

[Margalee]

@Titian06 I don't think tuberose is listed for the both of them because that was my first guess but when I checked I didn't see it listed for both.

[Margalee]

@Samtian @Titian06 You know I would attribute the balsamic notes to the unknown in Luminuese, but Twilly doesn't have balsamic notes. So I'm guessing it's something they did with the vanilla to bring out a less distinctive quality. It's the only shared (listed) ingredient. Maybe the balsamized the vanilla in Twilly. hahah

[Titian06]

@Margalee @Samtian - I meant to post the notes from Fragrantica.  Could it be the tuberose?  It's a migraine trigger for me.

[Samtian]

@Margalee I just started testing my Twilly sample and you are right something unknown about it. I really really like it. 

[Titian06]

@Margalee - Here are the notes according to Fragrantica:

[Margalee]

I've been disappointed by most of the new fragrance releases lately or they aren't enough to make me spend 100 plus dollars on them so I've been looking for other options. So strange too because the fall winter releases were right up my alley and I bought a few. Maybe this is better haha. I did see Tom Ford has a good mini set. I wouldn't mind a little more Tobacco Vanille but then he's thrown in a Soliel Blanc and so far all the Soliels have pretty much been nose tweakers for me. I decided not to purchase anymore discovery sets since I try most vials once or twice and then they sit there. But I've had a few disappointing blind buys and many perfumes are 100 plus a bottle. With the last new releases I've been interested in I've held out to get a whiff in store and I have been really glad that I didn't blind buy them. So I might have to revisit the no discovery sets option since they are a good way to find favorites. I have  a couple Middle Eastern fragrances and they are more inexpensive and smell good enough so maybe that's the blind buy route to take when blind buying...

[Samtian]

@Margalee I hear that. I also buy in spurts. Guerlain has this new Sakura Blossom one out with jewelry on it. It sounds amazing and the jewelry piece is stunning. I got online so fast to buy it...until I saw the $800 price tag. I cried a little inside. 

[Margalee]

@Samtian Woo! That makes me want to cry too! Haha

[Titian06]

I seem to buy in spurts, @Margalee .  There will be a number of good releases in a row and then nothing.  Like you, I buy discovery sets, but use each vial two or three times then stop, having found my favorite.  Right now, I told myself I have to go through all my perfumes, tossing or keeping, before I can buy anything new.

[Margalee]

I guess other than changing the scent a bit I didn't notice how different lotions reacted with perfume. 54Thrones Cloud Cream hibiscus rose seems to amp up the opening notes of some perfumes while some perfumes it just mingles with and gives them a nice kick. I think I enjoy Rose Hibiscus X Chanel Coco best so far. The mix with Eau Fraiche fell flat for me. The mix with Halloween was quite interesting as it took what I interpret as melon and turned it into a rubbery tire shop and for quite some time after was a new car scent then reverted to more of the drydown I expect from Halloween.  Victoria's Secret Love is Heavenly was reminiscent of an early summer picnic at it's opening, almost watermelony when combined with rose hibiscus and to my nose had a floral fruitiness amped up for awhile. Lancome's La Vie est Belle L'extrait didn't perform as I'd hoped. It actually seemed to draw back on the oud notes for me. Not sure what I'll try next.

[OlfactoryObsess]

Vacationed to Italy recently and got my nose on some niche fragrances! Really loved the Byredo line but the two standouts for me were Diptyque’s Do Son EDT and BDK Rouge Smoking. Do Son is definitely for white floral lovers, it’s bright and sweet and projects a mile away. Rouge Smoking sticks a little closer to the skin with smoky tonka and a hint of cherry with none of the medicinal effect. Got myself the travel size to start and it’s just as good as I remember.

 

[Samtian]

@OlfactoryObsess both those sound lovely!

[Margalee]

I also tried 54Thrones Rose Hibiscus Cloud Cream with Banana Republic Vintage Green. At first it was like sticking my nose in the surrounding greenery of a rose bush. I thought the mix really amped up the Vintage Green! Unfortunately that faded within 10-15 minutes and it was the lighter vague greeness BR Vintage Green becomes on me hiding behind the rose of the cream. I just need to find a perfume with the midnotes made up of Vintage Green's opening notes. Tomorrow will be either Diptyque's eau de Sens or Chanel Chance eau Fraiche. It should be interesting.