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!

 

[poornima]

Also, is Selfie a blind buy? (I don't see it in your sample list.)

I just looked up the notes on etiket and it seemed like something I'd like if the star anise wasn't super prominent. And then I went to fragrantica and it's currently sitting at 2/5… guess I'll be reading more reviews.

[Mochapj]

Selfie is a blind buy.

I ordered a sample of it over a week ago, but it was delayed because they hadn't received the Selfie shipment yet.

When I called to make my order today, I asked them if they could add a bottle of Selfie to my purchase.  They were apologetic since they hadn't been able to send me the sample, so they agreed to honor the 20% off when it comes in next week.  

I love star anise, ginger, maple, etc and 50% of the OS scents, so I was willing to give it a go.

[poornima]

The more I read about it, I actually love the concept behind it- even though I'm not a selfie type of person at all, and the name sort of put me off when I first read about it.

Cafleurebon and other perfume bloggers seem to love it though, so maybe it will be another Nanban. (It's at a 3.5/5 on Fragrantica and deemed to generic, while the perfume blogs raved about it- from my experiences with that tiny sample vial, I agree with the latter.)

Super keen to read your thoughts overall on it, as well as about how the star anise factors into it 🙂

[Mochapj]

The name is pretty annoying, but I overlooked it because all of their names are based on photographic concepts, so I just assumed they were running out of ideas 😄

But if they ever do a Stop Motion or Bokeh perfume, I'm out 😛

I'm super excited for it, so I will definitely report back.  

I think part of the fun for me is apparently you can upload a photo to OS' website and get your own custom 'selfie' label for the perfume.  

[poornima]

Hah, don't give them ideas 😛

Yeah, I read about that and I started to warm up to the concept a bit more. That, and it sounds like a pretty unique fragrance that sort of screams look-at-me. Since I have absolutely no problems with loud perfumes, this might actually be something I'd enjoy, especially if all the other notes crowded out the star anise. 

Super excited about my purchases. It is supposed to snow Saturday, so I hope my shipment arrives tomorrow as per schedule. I'll definitely let you know about 06 since this came up before 🙂

[poornima]

Ex Idolo is still on my to-try list. Ryder sounds right up my alley and 33 sounds like something I'd like too. Any reason why 33 didn't make your buy list?

I picked up Chambre Noire at Sephora when they first introduced the line (they had it at the Eaton Centre for awhile before it popped up online), but I don't even know where that bottle is. Autoportait is awesome though, and maybe if I'd gotten that instead, I'd still have the bottle visible. I didn't like Panorama or Indigo, but curious to know what you think of Selfie.

I'm surprised you added no Tauers to your collection! (I am hoping 06 doesn't let me down. I love cardamom- so hopefully I won't have the same experience as some of the naysayers on Fragrantica.)

I'm definitely going to be better prepared for the sale next year. I accumulated way too much stuff over the past couple of months, many of which were blind buys- so I want to use up at least a good portion of whatever I already have before buying more. I think all my perfume orders for the next few months are going to be samples-only...

[Mochapj]

I can't recall why I didn't get a sample of Ryder, but I think there was some notes in it I don't like.

33 started off promising, but it evolved into a heavy floral on me.  Too much rose.  I really wanted to like it, because the story behind aging it is so compelling.

I picked up samples of the whole OS line when they first popped up at Eaton Centre last year, and I immediately FB'd Lumiere Blanche.  The rest I kept putting off to re-try.  Autoportrait has been on my 'loves' list for a while, but I never bit the bullet.  I love the first few hours of Chambre Noire (all that smoky, leathery, library smell) but then it goes pure powdery floral on me and I lose interest.  I disliked Indigo a lot, so I've never re-tried it.  Still Life was too citrusy.  Panorama grew on me today, but Etiket only sells it in the big bottles.  I have too much perfume to buy anything in big anymore.

I added no other Tauers because I caved and bought URV from Twisted Lily the other night.  I tried all the other samples I had just in case but luckily none of them swayed me.  I even showered and re-tried LDDM on its own this evening, but it's just not for me.

I didn't know Etiket did F&F sale until earlier this week, so I went a little crazy.  Now that I know, I'll plan better for next year.  

[poornima]

Ex Idolo is definitely on my lust list. It just sounds so wonderful, and I'm SO hoping that I love at least one of the two.

Lumiere Blanche, iirc, was Yassine's (the guy who knew all about the SL) favourite, but it didn't smell nearly as wonderful on me. Plus, it didn't last nearly as long as Chambre Noire either. I need to revisit Olfactive Studio again...

The fact that you ended up buying URV despite the initial hesitation makes me want to try it even more. Twisted Lily also carries Pentachord Auburn, so I'll make sure I add that to my sample list as well. Sucks that LDDM didn't work for you- it is one of my favourites and probably the Tauer I use the most. (I know you mentioned liquorice in your observations- and I don't get that at all- which is good because anise and liquorice don't work on me. It's insane how much body chemistry can alter certain scents.)

And re: the Etiket sale, yeah, I didn't know it was a thing. And the email came out Tuesday, so I didn't have nearly enough time to order samples to test out first. From googling this seems like an annual thing though, so I'll definitely make sure I'm better prepared for next year.

[Mochapj]

HA!  You're my scent twin 😄

I also bought Nanban.

I have a funny story, but I'm about to grab dinner.

To be continued...

[poornima]

I need to grab dinner too, or at least stop browsing Etiket/Fragrantica.

Can't wait to hear the story! 🙂

(And can't wait to hear about what else you got.)

[Libellules]

My Tauer order arrived! I did get Dark & Mysterious Woods, but it seems that one will have to wait for when I'm in the mood for it.

Trying Amber Flash today! It started out really lovely, ambery with vanilla, and as it started to settle, I got the booziness that is really heavy in TF Amber Absolute.

It has bloomed and really settled in now. The vanilla and booziness have faded away, and I'm left with something incensy, a la Avignon, but with some honey. 

Today is a cooler day, but still sunny and it's perfect 🙂

[lipstick4soul]

This sounds gorgeous! The TF was a bit too boozy for my taste, maybe I will try this. 

[poornima]

Amber Flash sounds so awesome and complex on you. One me, it actually smelled dry/crisp, which I suspect is the vanilla. No boozy depth either.

Did you swatch or empty the better part of the contents of the sample vial?

[Mochapj]

More new things today.  2 more Tauers and an Olfactive Studio

02 L'air du Desert Morocain.  This is an interesting one.  It started off with a black licorice and smoky vibe, but then it calms itself down, softens into something mild, with an incense sweetness and a touch of leather.  Intrigued.  Will try again.

03 Lonestar Memories.  SUPER smoky.  Almost overwhelmingly so.  As it develops I start to get a ton of myrrh.  This is too masculine, even for me.

Olfactive Studio Panorama.  I tried this one during the summer, and put it away to try again in the fall.  The main note being wasabi is what drew me to the fragrance.  It is a complicated scent.  I think if I was a more complicated person I would wear this, but I feel like it would be trying too hard to do so.  I do think my very edgy SIL could probably pull it off, so perhaps I will buy her one for Christmas.  It is spicy, green smelling like freshly snapped twigs, yet also refreshing with sparkling lemon notes.  

[Libellules]

L'air du Desert Morocain sounds interesting and promising! You have me scared about Lonestar Memories though....

[Mochapj]

After about an hour, LM has toned down somewhat, but I still don't like it :S

[vegchililover78]

Does anyone have an opinion on Le Labo? I was thinking about buying a few samples to try out!

[jemly]

one of my favorite brands / ranges !

santal33 is a cult classic. 

rose31 made me like (love) rose perfumes. 

their petitgrain21 candle blew my mind the first time i encountered it. 

and on top of that, if you order directly from them they put your name on the bottle. 

adore. 

[vegchililover78]

Thanks Jemly! I'm mostly undecided on what I want to get. Iris 39 is my one definite choice.

[Mochapj]

I am sitting here in a cloudy haze of perfume.

Starting to work my way through my gigantic pile of decants, samples, minis, etc.

I've started with a few Tauers that came recently when I purchased Phi, since they were on the top of the pile.

04 Reverie Au Jardin Pour Elle and 011 Carillon Pour Un Ange.  

011 is very white flower heavy.  In fact, when I applied it the first thing that came to mind was flower BOMB (not the V&R frag, but a punch in the face of flowers).  It receded into a crabtree and evelyn soapy background.  I had high hopes for this one as a marriage of white florals, lilac and leather, but it's not for me.

04 is sweet lavender candy.  It sort of reminds me of the scent/flavor of Thrills gum, actually (which is rosewater)  The longer I wear it, the sweeter it's getting.  I feel like it could give me a toothache.  It has a very fake, cough syrupy quality to it I'm not a fan of.  There is a touch of frankincense, but I have to strain to find it.  Disappoint 😞

[pixiedust2]

Question on layering. Does it work like your face with serums and creams? Lightest to heaviest?

I'm still too sick to smell anything, but I have some new stuff and I don't know what goes on first. Would I put fragrance on first, then lotion on top? And what about mixing an oil and a spray? Spray first?