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!

 

[TriesToBoClassy]

From a FT article: "Shrouded in secrecy up until now, this new release, due in September, will be a collection of fragrances of which many will focus on pure floral notes, as well as a new note from Louis Vuitton leather. An innovative CO2-extraction method has been developed to preserve the essence of the flowers, which include Grasse rose and jasmine. Distribution will be selective. Don’t expect to pick one up when passing through duty-free — this will be available from Louis Vuitton boutiques only."

.....sounds like they will form a line comparable to Hermessence, Chanel Les Exclusifs etc..? I wonder what the price point will be. Pure florals and leather are totally up my alley 😆😅

[NarNarNars]

I was about to say, if they are doing pure rose and jasmine I'd be all over it, then voila, two lines down and they read my mind! I see some damages to my wallet soon! Thanks so much for the info, @TriesToBoClassy! 😄

[Samtian]

I feel like they will be too expensive for me to even smell 😄

[Mochapj]

Interesting, thank you @NarNarNars!

I have a feeling they will be available at Sephoras; whether that's just European stores or North America... who knows? 🙂

[TriesToBoClassy]

Oh interesting! I looked him up on Fragrantica. He was the nose behind tons of commercial flankers, but also MMM Beach Walk and Stella. I wonder whether the line will be mainstream or niche/high end.

[lipstick4soul]

A bit more mainstream than what we normally talk about but I got the new Chanel #5 L'Eau available for pre-order and releasing September 1. 

I got an email to order it earlier and anyone that knows me will tell you that Chanel and before anyone else is a deadly combination for me 😉

officially this new version is "targeted at a younger generation" and one of only a few flankers of the iconic original. I actually quite like the parfum version but haven't worn it in 20 years or more. 

I have only had it on a couple of hours. The initial burst of powder and aldehydes is true to the original. Within about 10 minutes turned into slightly fruity pez candy and then into very expensive laundry detergent with a hint of woody/musk. As only Chanel can, it actually remains quite elegant. The irony that the target market has likely never heard of pez is not lost on me...

Edited for pictures. The packaging is gorgeous. Not sure it shows but the sleeve is embossed with the bottle and it is also on the interior that keeps the bottle in place in the box. Everything really reinforces the description and branding. Well done Chanel marketing 😉

[lipstick4soul]

@AnneMCC @@meganlisa here was my review of the new #5 L'Eau. I wore it again the other day and my opinion didn't change. It's a beautiful bottle and interesting take on the original but not a "must have" in my opinion unless you really love this kind of thing. 

[meganlisa]

@lipstick4soul I didn't see your original review but am glad I skipped.  I was tempted too, same reasons.  Chanel almost gets to a love/hate sometimes (like YSL).  The do so well and then, fall so short.

Thanks for the input.   I'm sure I'll do damage elsewhere.

[TriesToBoClassy]

I recently purchased Lauder Private Collection Jasmine White Moss EdP. It is d/c but I found it at a CCO. It is a light chypre / white flower blend which drydown somehow reminds me of TF Santal Blush. The few vintage chypres (Chanel no.19, Balmain Vent Vert, Niki de Saint Phalle) I own minis of are distinct and interesting, but not quite loveable. Jasmine White Moss is lighter, well rounded, and absolutely lovely. I want a backup.

[Mochapj]

My final stop was in London, to make a custom scent at the perfume shop that @lipstick4soul mentioned, Bloom Perfumery.  The store is in Covent Garden, and you basically have a one on one session with someone to discuss what you want in a scent.  

 

I had very definite ideas about what I wanted, so we skimmed over the first step, but supposedly if you don't know what you want, the first bit is they sit you down and make you smell a ton of scents they sell in the store.  This helps you to pinpoint what you like or don't like.  After I told them what I was looking for, I had the abridged version of this exercise, with them pulling out scents that had the notes I wanted, and asking me to smell them and confirm if I liked it or not.  I'd assume this is to make sure that what you're describing is what you actually want.  

 

Once that's over, they start in on your custom scent by making you smell 10 base blends. Out of the 10 you can select 3, and you need to order those 3 from most to least prominent for your fragrance.  Some calculations are done, and then the perfumer weighs and droppers them into your bottle or vial.  After the bases are mixed, you get to smell and sample it.

Next, you smell the heart note blends.  Out of the 12, you can select up to 5, and again you need to order them from most to least prominent.  Calculations are done, and the correct doses are added to your ongoing bottle or vial.  It's then blended so you can smell and sample it at this stage, too.  

Then, you smell the top note blends.  Out of 8, you could pick 3-4, but you could also choose as few as 2.  More calculations, more additions, and then it is blended once more and you're given your nearly final spritz, this time on the skin.  

 

Lastly, once you've had a chance to wear it, the perfumer asks you if you'd like to amplify any of the notes you've already included in your scent to make them more prominent.  I can't recall definitively, but I think she said you could pick 1-2 notes to do this with, but I opted to leave mine as is.  

Overall, I had a really great experience, and thought this was a lot of fun.  There were a few negatives, though.  You book this experience as an appointment on their website, and prepay for it.  Even though I did that and showed up 10 minutes early, the perfumer wasn't there when I arrived and she ended up being 20 minutes late.  The person running the shop when I got there helped me get started while I waited, but I was still a little PO'd that even with an appointment, the perfumer was late.  I booked the last appointment of the day and was meant to go straight to dinner from there, but because she was so tardy, my experience ended up being rushed, and I wasn't even able to stay and get the label for my perfume, which apparently took 20 minutes to produce.  

Also, the following day I went to take out my vial to use and thought it looked like it was leaking a little.  I unscrewed and rescrewed the atomizer top onto it and it seemed fine.  But, when I got home on Sunday and unpacked it, I took the atomizer out of it's metal sleeve and saw that half my perfume had leaked and escaped from the sleeve.  I bought 2 different scents and the second one was fine, so I'm not sure if this one was just defective, but I've contacted them about it.  The custom blending isn't exactly cheap, so I'm not too enthused that half of my scent is already gone.     

So, overall I enjoyed it, but like @lipstick4soul I have some caveats. 

ETA: the scent I made I named Negative Spice.

It's notes are;

Base: Fougere, Ambery Leather, Oud

Heart: Moroccan Spice, Frankincense, Fig, Gardenia

Top: Green Tea, Blackcurrant Leaves

[TriesToBoClassy]

Thank you for sharing your visits! It looks like you had so much fun over there 😄 I want to sniff your custom scent.. I hope you can work out something with Bloom Perfumery.

[bonafide11]

Thank you for sharing your experiences! I was in London and Paris last summer and miss it so much. You've given me lots of food for thought for future visits. 

Bloom sounds very cool but it is disappointing they weren't more prepared especially when you had an appointment. 

[Mochapj]

Glad to help give you ideas for future trips, @bonafide11!

All these places were a lot of fun.  Bloom, even with their issues was still a good time and a really interesting process to sit down and discover.  If I'd had more time I probably would have gone back and made another scent.

[ChristalM]

Have you ever tried the custom scent blending from Memoire Liquid? I found that to be great. I had one done in NY at Henri Bendel (although since discontinued there) and one at the Bay on Queen St (not sure if still there). 

[Mochapj]

That was the other one I was referring to @ChristalM!!!

I booked an appointment to do it at the Queen St Bay last summer, and they called me to tell me the counter was no longer there because of the Saks moving in 😞

I own one of the premade Memoire Liquide scents (Encens something) and I love it, so I was really bummed that I couldn't make one of my own. 

It's on my list for the next trip to NY; they told me they still have somewhere you can do it there.

[ChristalM]

OH NO!

I have like 5 bottles and I am running out of one 😞

Really? Wow must look into that since I think I will be there again soon.

[ChristalM]

Oh my that is too bad. 

Thank you so much for sharing!

[lipstick4soul]

@Mochapj I have had the best time catching up on your posts from Paris and London! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and pictures. I am sorry your fragrance leaked and you had similar frustrations with bloom. Sounds like you had a similar experience to my "earliest" appointment of the day. 

[Mochapj]

Thank you @lipstick4soul!  Without your original post, I never would've heard about Bloom and been able to make a scent at all, which has been on my bucket list for a few years now.

Even despite the few negatives, I really did enjoy the experience.  If anything, it has made me more curious to try the other place I read about last year that's in NYC.

[veronika23]

I'm sorry that happened 😞 I hope they can do something about the one that leaked.  Sounds like a cool scent though 🙂

[Mochapj]

Thanks V!  I hope so, too.  I emailed her on Monday and I'm still waiting to hear back.