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Fragrance Junkie Central

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!

 

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Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

OK @lachaton  @RoseCharlie

 

So, due to a Sephora shipping mishap, I now have all 3 Aerin fragrances. I got Bamboo Rose (the one I wasn't interested in) by mistake when I ordered Garden Rose, but after smelling it, I didn't want to return it without smelling the other 2 first, so I ended up ordering Linen and another Garden Rose instead.

 

Here are my first impressions, described with my non-descriptive way of describing fragrances 😄

 

Bamboo Rose - it's not quite my fav, but I surprisingly like it a lot considering I wasn't even interested in it. It's a rose with a fresh, aquatic note. Like if I were to float rose buds in a pool with greenery. I think this would be like Light Blue, but more floral?

 

Garden Rose - this is very, very similar to Jo Malone Red Roses! The difference is, JM seems fresher. If JM is a vase of freshly cut red roses with freshly filled water, Garden Rose is a rose petal that was just broken apart and rubbed on skin. I don't know why, but that's how I imagine it when I smell it. It has a bit more warmth, and the dry down almost has a faint candy-floss note. The downside is it fades quickly BUT I have only used this on my wrist and I find that things fade much quicker on my wrist than on my neck. I don't think you need this one if you have JM Red Roses. I also think Red Roses will be longer lasting. 

 

Linen Rose - if JM Red Roses and Maison Margiela Beach Walk were to have a baby, this would be it. Beach Walk is more like freshly applied suntan lotion (in the best possible way, because it's not offensive like freshly applied sunscreen) then Linen Rose is the smell I'd get if I wore a rose perfume over Beach Walk, and tanned all day in the sun. It's a very interesting fragrance. The coconut is very noticeable, but more like a coconut milk to me rather than coconut water. Does that make sense? I really like this one too!

 

All in all, I'm happy with the 3 and I can see myself keeping all 3. Unless Garden Rose has NO lasting power whatsoever, I don't think I'll be returning it!

 

Hope this helps if you're still thinking of these fragrances 😄

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

@k617Thank you thank you thank you! : ) that's really useful to know - I just ended up ordering Garden rose yesterday so I can't wait to try it - I was hoping for a "true rose" scent with a bit of warmth.  I quite like Chloe Roses - would you say it resembles Chloe Roses in any way? : )  I can't wait to try it now though that's a bit of a bummer about the lasting power.  I tried JM Red Roses but it was so many years ago now I wish I could try it again now that I've tried many many more perfumes so that I could have an idea of what it smells like.  Weirdly enough - because I know Beach Walk is very well liked - but I've never smelled it though I have been meaning to try it.   I definitely agree with you that the coconut note is quite noticeable and that I wouldn't really describe it as "coconut water" because that implies a lighter scent then what I'm getting here.  I think coconut milk is a good description! : )  I quite like the sound of Bamboo rose from your description - I just might end up with all 3 fragrances too! : ) These are pretty pricey fragrances so I'm very happy they were brought out in rollerball because there's no way I would have blind purchased a whole bottle but with the rollerballs it's a nice way to try different stuff...

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

JM Red Roses is like huge bright fresh cut red roses in full bloom, with a base of warm honeycomb that develops over time. It's a gorgeous fragrance and one of the longest lasting JM frags I've tried. I can still smell the roses and honeycomb on me at the end of the day. Those two scent ingredients are quite true to real life (not a perfumey interpretation), which is what I appreciate with JM. 

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

I happen to have Roses de Chloe and I wouldn't say it resembles it... the citrus note is very noticeable to me in Roses de Chloe, but Garden Rose is fairly true to just being plain ROSE. 🙂 It's simpler and more authentic. If you like Garden Rose, I think you will really like JM Red Roses.

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

Oh k617 thank you for this!  Linen Rose sounds amazing!  I'm adding it to my wish list ASAP!

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

I hope my description doesn't fail you @michelleshops ! I tend to struggle with describing fragrances beyond "this smells great" or "blech"!

 

I'm wearing Linen Rose for real today, sadly the lasting power is not so good as I expect from eau de cologne...

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

It's a great description @k617! I'm terrible at describing colors and scents so I appreciate that you used scents that are easy to recall.  I hate when brands tell me something "smells like the feeling of flying" or whatever.  It sounds cool but...<shrug>

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

I just received my first Jo Malone fragrance in Orange Blossom and wow....it is lovely.  I didn't know what an Orange Blossom would smell like, but you know when you peel open an orange and you get that burst of citrus?  Its like half of that, half a soft but sultry floral scent that reminds me of lilies.  

 

This scent is so elegant and lovely...by far my favorite scent of all time!  I know Jo Malone is all about the layering, but I wouldn't layer this one - its simple and feels natural, unlike the more chemically/harsh scents from other floral perfumes I've tried.  

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

i finally got my nose on MM replica: dancing on the moon. while the description of dancing on the moon wasn't the most 'me' (the forest one sounds right down my alley) i was just so charmed by the name, as well as the "floral minerality" description. 

 

it's not very ME, but i really like it. to my nostalgic nose (based on memory rather than having the comparison right in front of me), the jasmine note made it smell very similar to bobbi brown 'beach'. which makes sense--that jasmine + salt ("minerality") water combo. this one is slightly more powdery, but not in an old fashioned way. 

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

To all the Toronto area fragrance junkies, i just read that Le Labo has opened a Toronto storefront (separate from the one inside Gee Beauty) in the Trinity Bellwoods area.

 

Apparently that means eventually there's going to be a Toronto scent, too 🙂

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

Very exciting! Thanks for sharing, @Mochapj

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

currently re-fallen in love with this gem. i've had it for years, and am nearing the end. it's ODIN New York's 01: "sunda", and the main notes are tonka bean, heliotrope, sandalwood and juniper. it's clean and creamy, but also a bit dark and mysterious. the only down side to is the longevity--ohhhhh how i wish it lasted longer (it's still worth it to me !). but i wanted to point out a brand that i think is often overlooked that i really love--i think all of their scents smell sophisticated but cool, refined but unique. 

 

(this picture is with a light shining through it; it all looks black unless held up to a light)

 

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Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

@jemly Oh wow that sounds super interesting and unique as well! I loooove tonka, sandalwood and heliotrope... I find Juniper pleasant though I kind of mentally think of it as having a slight medicinal quality to it but with the other notes I can see this blend being very beautiful... That certainly is a very original assortment of notes - I so so wish i could smell this! 🙂

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

Iris lovers- a must sniff. I have never cared for the Armani Prive line but this one blew me away. I want a whole bottle, and maybe a backup. I haven't fallen for a fragrance this much in years. not sure I can smell all the notes in the description but starts off with a burst of aldehydes and a carrot-y iris, then deepens to a more velvety, slightly chocolatey iris, then more woody iris on the dry down. lasts at least 8 hours, maybe longer. I got my 2ml decant from Surrender to Chance in their sale a couple of weeks back and it is almost gone already, sigh.

 

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description on Armani site:

 

"The color Celadon is neither blue, green nor grey.  It's an indefinable color, and one that I find fascinating” - Giorgio Armani.

After fragrance notes of jasmine, leather, amber and incense, iris now comes to prominence. This mysterious and joyous flower offers a characteristic and penetrating olfactory treat. Here, it presents itself in its finest attire, enveloped in the unique colour of Celadon to create a new art piece within LA COLLECTION; an iridescent world and a new olfactory story.

As the unifying floral thread running through the wake of this fragrance, the iris is presented in aldehyde wrapped in bergamot and cardamom. The majestic flower then explodes into a resinous iris heart with hints of chocolate and concrete with buttery accents, underpinned by a maté absolute. It explores its sensual side through powerful musks, ambrette and patchouli.

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

This made me go to my glam room and spray myself! hahahah!  I love the Armani Prive perfumes!  I want them all! 

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

ooh, I want a glam room!!

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

Jo Malone is live on Sephora US!

http://www.sephora.com/jo-malone-london

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

Hello Ladies,

 

I was wondering if anyone has tried any of the new AERIN rose-centred eau de cologne releases? In Canada they are only available as rollerballs right now but that's perfect for me because I have quite a large collection i mostly buy smaller sizes so I can own different things.  I do buy full bottles but only a few per year, and only once I am absolutely positive I love a perfume.  Otherwise - it's rollerball or travel size for me and as an aside I LOVE that Sephora offers this it makes me so happy!

 

Anyhow - that aside I ADORE AERIN - everything she does smells beautiful to me and Lilac Path is on of my top 3 full-bottle scents that I wear again and again.  I adore roses - rose is my favourite note and I tend to like rose notes that allow the beauty of the rose to shine through.  I ordered the Linen Rose eau de cologne because I loved the description:

 

"The energizing rush of sun-drenched top notes scatter like orange flower petals among lemon leaves to create a vivid burst of freshness. They flow through the enveloping warmth of the rose-filled heart of the fragrance: white Bulgarian rose, exotic ylang-ylang, refreshing coconut water, Bulgarian rose absolute, Bulgarian rose oil, and rose bouton. Like the sun upon the sand and sea, a golden glow emerges in the final notes of vanilla and amber. Sun-bleached vetiver adds the final modern note of depth and refinement."

 

I didn't have a kind of warm but clean rose like that in my collection and I was intrigued to try it.  It was maybe not a wise choice for me to make for myself since coconut water is listed as a note and I'm ok with coconut if it is VERY subtle but if it is prominent the scent tends to make me feel nauseous.  I can objectively say that this scent is well-done and unique, like the line and I am still excited about the other two but I think I may not have picked the right EDC from this collection.  I should probably have picked Garden Rose or Bamboo Rose because the coconut is quite prominent in Linen Rose.  It's well done but to me it drowns out the rose and ends up making it difficult for me to pick up the other notes.  I do get some amber and some vanilla but I'm not getting as much crisp rose, orange flower blossom or lemon tree freshness as I would have liked.  I get mostly coconut water, sea breeze, underscored by a little rose that I know to be there because of the composition but that I can't quite reach through the stronger notes, that, backed by a nice amber and vanilla with just a hint of earthy vetiver as the description says.  

 

Because of the success of "beachy" fragrances I think that these must be notes that really appeal to people and it's not that I think the effect is not pretty it's just that reading the description I assumed the "coconut water" note would be a VERY subtle background note and to me that is not the case.  That, combined with the fact that coconut does something a little funny to me but I feel like I should stress that this is the result of my own particularities and the fact that I made what was a bad choice considering those particularities.  I can still objectively say that for someone else who does not have that reaction to coconut this is a beautiful, well-done and very unique scent.  I haven't smelled anything quite like it and it is very pretty and summery.  

 

Anyhow, I really do love rose and i was so excited for this release especially since I can buy it in rollerball so I was hoping someone could help me out and let me know what they thought of these fragrances if anyone else has tried them? I'm trying to decide about whether i should order the other two.  I also don't know if they will be made available in stores or if they will only be available online.  If they were to become available in store I would go down and smell them first but I also don't want to miss the opportunity to buy rollerball sized if they might not be available in a few weeks here in Canada...

 

So - ladies - has anyone tried these? What did y'all think?

 

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Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

I haven't tried this brand before, but wow, what a pretty bottle!  Have you tried the Gardenia or Waterlily?  I'm super tempted to blind buy this because of the packaging o_o

 

http://www.sephora.com/gardenia-rattan-P388764?skuId=1639210&icid2=products%20grid:p388764

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

@RoseCharlie I haven't tried any of these, but I was also unsure if the coconut water would overpower the rose (I'm not a huge fan of it generally). 

 

If you're ever looking for the larger bottle instead of a rollerball, Estee Lauder direct has the large bottles available for Canada (but no rollerballs). 

Re: Fragrance Junkie Central

@lachaton Thank you for the heads up about the AERIN website! If I ended up really loving one of these scents I would probably definitely invest in the full bottle… I notice that these 2 “eau de cologne” come in a different full-sized bottles – they are 200ml for $165USD which would be around $220CAD which is pretty steep : O I guess the bottles are much bigger though – that’s a little over 6.7 ounces which is a little over twice as big as a big full-sized bottle. So I suppose that if you look at it that way it’s a regularly priced fragrance that comes in at about $110CAD/100ml or 3.3oz. But honestly I was SUPER thrilled to see Sephora carry the rollerballs first on a new perfume product, I thought that was awesome of Sephora because it’s a much lower-risk way to try new fragrances. I know that rollerballs are not economical if a person really loves the frangrance but I think they are the best thing because I love to try many different new things and even with fragrances I can try in the store I think I need to wear it on its own a few times outside of a scented environment and see how it interacts with my body’s chemistry over times. You were right to be suspicious of that coconut note, to my nose it does overpower the rose but I could see how other people who don’t wear as many ROSEY ROSE rose-soliflores as I do might experience this eau differently. I wear quite a few – Annick Goutal’s Rose Absolue and Serge Lutens Sa Majeste la Rose when I want a rich rose’s rose experience and Chloe Roses or Cartier Goutte de Rose for a lighter sort of every day office scent when I was a lighter rose. So to my mind and nose when the fragrance’s name includes the word “rose” I kind of think it will be a rose in the lead with maybe a few other elements in the distant background playing up different elements of the rose. I can see how a person who wears fragrances that are not quite as rose-centered might not think the coconut drowns out the rose in this fragrance. I imagine they might experience the rose as being the co-star, but for me, well I was expecting it to be the star of the show and this isn’t quite what I had in mind. Still, I can see how it is well done and interested, this particular one just isn’t for me. I am hopeful for the other two! : )

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