By Kilian Incense Oud

By Kilian sent me a sample of their newest release, Incense Oud, this week. Perfume lovers who are wondering how to get free samples... I think I received this one because I recently went to their site and registered. This was their newest release since I registered, and it came to the address that I used on that site.I have to admit that while I am incredibly appreciative of the free perfume sample, this isn't my favorite By Kilian fragrance. Incense Oud is a dense, high sillage perfume with that slightly medicinal, slightly metallic edge that oud lovers are sure to enjoy. Like most perfumes in this category, there is a rich, slightly sweet...

Read More

Vintage Perfumes & Antique Shopping

Micanopy Florida is our regional "antique store town", and it's where I headed yesterday in search of vintage perfumes. I'm sure that there are towns like this all over the country: small towns with 2 or 3 small streets with historic houses that have been converted into stores selling 1930s glassware, old world war 2 memorabilia, old books, and antique dolls with splotchy, discolored faces. I hadn't gone since college, but I've reading about perfume lovers finding vintage perfumes in these antique stores, so I decided to give it a shot. If you have a town like this near you, it's time to jump in the car and go!What was I looking for? Two things:...

Read More

Chanel Perfume Photos: Vintage Cristalle and Cuir de Russie

Sean and I took some photos of my perfume collection. I'll be adding them over the next few weeks, but in the meantime, here are a few to get you started. I purchased the two mini vintage Chanel perfume bottles on ebay. The vintage Cristalle bottle is a 1/4oz eau de toilette.The other bottle is a 3.5ml pure parfum of Cuir de Russie by Chanel.The large bottle is the star of my collection: a pre-exclusif bottle of Chanel Cuir de Russie eau de Toilette.All photos taken by Sean and me. All rights reserv...

Read More

Hermes Iris Ukiyoe Perfume Review (SOTD)

Being a huge fan of Jean Claude Elena and Hermes, I was excited when they announced the launch of the new Hermessence Iris Ukiyoe—but I'm on a budget, so it’s taken me a few months to obtain a bottle. A few weeks ago, I ordered a travel bottle (15ml), which arrived in the mail on Thursday afternoon. I had a big road trip planned for the weekend, and I wondered what to do… It’s dangerous to spray yourself liberally with a new perfume and jump into a confined space: you can end up with a headache or nausea or just a plain scrubber. But Jean Claude Elena’s scents tend to be transparent, so I decided to give it a full spray before jumping in the...

Read More

Juste Un Reve - Parfums de Nicolai - SOTD Perfume Review

Juste un Reve by Parfums de Nicolai is the perfect perfume for any Monday morning. I dabbed some on from my decant this morning and can still smell the eau de toilette now (and that's more than 12 hours later)-- not bad for an edt!A lot of people classify this as a "tropical floral" or "vacation perfume" because of the notes. You'll see different notes listed on different sites; some even focus on the coconut and monoi notes. I agree that those are there, but it's not nearly as fruity as Parfums de Nicolai Cococobana (a green coconut) or Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess.I'd list Juste un Reve as a slightly-powdery green floral. It's pretty in the same was that Givenchy Amarige was: a lush white flower with lots of gardenia and jasmine. The coconut starts off very green and non-gourmand, with an...

Read More

Vintage Lauren by Ralph Lauren - SOTD Mini Review

I rarely wear my small, 15ml stash of Vintage Lauren by Ralph Lauren, but when I do I'm never disappointed. Six months after I became serious in the perfume hobby, I began to track down my favorites from when I was young, including both Lauren and Chloe by Lagerfeld.Lauren was my first "adult" perfume, which I received as a gift when I was about 13. I had the set, which included a burgundy glass bottle with a bulbous gold cap, a small container of lotion (which was silky smooth and thin) and a small bottle of the pure parfum, around 5ml in size. I knew nothing about perfume back then and thought that the parfum was just a small, convenient-for-traveling...

Read More

SOTD: Parfums de Nicolai Week-end a Deauville

I love Parfums de Nicolai, and when I heard about the launch of Week-end a Deauville (a Paris exclusive at the time and a limited edition) I knew that I had to have it in my collection. At the time, I had not yet purchased a full bottle unsniffed, so I was weary of buying an expensive bottle from Paris and wasn't sure exactly how to go about it, though I had purchased from "theparisshopper" on ebay before with some success... and I considered asking her to pick up a bottle for me.As luck would have it, a fellow MUA'er (J) was kind enough to send me a sample. Along with it in this package, she sent Violette in Love, MDCI Un Coeur en Mai, and a...

Read More

SOTD Review: Van Cleef & Arpels Gardenia Petale (Collection Extraordinairre)

SOTD is Van Cleef & Arpels Gardenia Petale. I'm dabbing it from a sample set that I purchased, and I can only imagine how pretty this perfume will be when sprayed. I've already used up a full sample, so clearly this is on my "to buy" list.Here's the thing: I really like the idea of wearing floral perfumes, and this one is clearly very well designed. And it's very pretty. I imagine it is one of those perfumes that my fellow office workers would compliment me on. And if you are wearing perfumes for other people to smell, this is a great choice. It's clean, pretty, not overly sweet and without any real musk elements. It smells very natural.While 95% of it smells like my above description (fresh flowers, gardenia, jasmine, lily of the valley), 5% of it smells slightly beach. And that's what...

Read More

SOTD: Ormonde Jayne Seraphim (for 20ltd)

Perfume-hobbyists like me often become obsessed with a house or a perfumer. In fact, we frequently become fanatical about SEVERAL and try to buy everything that they've created. I feel this sort of fanfare for only three perfumers/houses: Ormonde Jayne, Jean Claude Elena and Patricia Nicolai. So, when I heard that there was a limited edition perfume made by Ormonde Jayne for 20ltd, I had to try it. Seraphim has not let me down!Eventually, I bought some through someone. If you are on the trail of this beauty, send me a message and I'll email you my source. At the time, she was even potentially willing to sell me the bottle, which is a huge score since 20LTD agreed to let the owners of the bottles have unlimited refills.According to their website, only 50 of the elegant bottles were made, and...

Read More

Shopping and Smelling Atelier Colognes: Grand Neroli, Trefle Pur, and Bois Blonds

I first smelled the Atelier Colognes at Neiman Marcus on a trip out of town. If you live in a small town like I do, an out of town trip to go sniffing is a real treat-- but also a bit overwhelming. I feel incredibly intimidated by the sales people every time. I'm not sure why: I've worked in sales in the past and now RUN both a sales and a marketing dept for a very expensive product line. I'm a grown up, right? But I always feel a bit rushed and judged in these upper end stores. And I feel guilty, because I'm more of a shopper than a buyer. Often the salespeople are so pushy that I just want to leave. If there were no salespeople, I might stay all day and buy a few things. But I feel guilty if I can't make an immediate purchase.So when a line launches 5 frags that are all in a similar cologne/citrus...

Read More